Angel in a devils arms
by tokiluv
Summary: "But, haven't you ever thought of-" "Ahh, my dear Master Phantomhive. You see, that is where you are wrong. Didn't anyone ever tell you that revenge solves nothing?"-a sweet innocent 'girl' meets Ciel Phantomhive. Will she survive all the trouble he brings? And are they linked together much more then they realize?
1. That Maid, The Beginning

**Summary: "But, haven't you ever thought of-" "Ahh, my dear Master Phantomhive. You see, that is where you are wrong. Didn't anyone ever tell you that revenge solves nothing?"- a sweet innocent girl meets Ciel Phantomhive. Will she survive all the trouble he brings?**

**A/N: I know I'm supposed to be updating my other two fanfiction stories but this story has been bugging me for a while now. Oh yea! This will be anime and manga based (but mostly anime) just to let you know ahead of time! So please READ and REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji**

Chapter 1

The Beginning

"Mommy? Daddy?" a little girl around the age of five called out, clutching her stuffed fox. She stumbled along the dark house, calling out for her parents.

'_W-where are they? I only just went out to go play with Darla! Where are they? Why won't they answer me?'_ the little girl thought, worry creasing her brow.

She stumbled around before she tripped over a piece of furniture, skinning her knee and causing it to bleed. Whimpering softly, she pulled herself up and continued her search. As she neared her parent's bedroom, a sickly stench filled her nose and the poor girl almost threw up on the floor. Breathing in through her mouth, she walked slowly to her parent's room. Opening the door, she saw her mother and father in their room, blood splattered everywhere. The little girl's eyes grew wide as she stared at them. Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor, tears spilling out of her eyes. She whimpered and crawled to her father, her stuffed toy completely forgotten at the door.

"D-daddy? Daddy! Please, please daddy! Please wake up!" she cried, shaking her dad's lifeless body.

The little girl let out a sob as she left her father's body and crawled towards her mother.

"M-mommy? Y-you are up, right mommy? Mommy?" the little girl whimpered, shaking her mother.

"M-my darling…" she heard her mother breathe out so low that the girl had to lean in to hear her.

"M-mommy!" the girl cried, clutching her mother's hand and bringing it up to her chest.

"My b-baby g-g-girl…"

"Y-yes mommy! I'm right here! Mommy what happened? Whoever did this to you I will-" the little girl was cut off by her mother.

"No baby. Remember what I told you: revenge solves nothing. Don't avenge us, live your life for your father and me…" the woman started saying but she was cut off by her violent coughs.

"M-mommy! Stop talking mommy! I will go and find some help mommy and-and you will get better!"

"No my darling…i-it's too late for me. B-but before I go…t-take this necklace from my neck as your inheritance. Keep…it as….a….remembrance of….your…fam…ily…." the mother breathed out her last breath as her chest grew still and her eyes closed.

"Mommy!" the girl cried, clutching tighter onto her mother's hand.

"N-no mommy! Please! Please don't leave me!" the girl sobbed for a few more minutes before she moved her shaking hands to her mother's throat and unclamped the necklace.

"I-I will listen to you mommy! I-I w-won't look f-for r-revenge. I-I will l-l-live for you and d-daddy! I p-promise1" the little girl sobbed as she took the necklace and put it on.

Sniffling, the little girl got up and made her way to the door, stumbling along the way. Picking up her toy, she stumbled to the front door and walked out. Once she was out, she fell to the cold and snow covered ground and cried. Her parents had been murdered….the day before Christmas.

_7 years later….._

A boy around the age of twelve walked along the busy streets of London. He was nibbling on a piece of jam filled bread; his hat was pulled down so low that it covered his face, his shirts collar was flipped up so it covered his neck, and he was clutching an old and beaten up stuffed fox. As he walked, he slipped down a narrow alley way that connected to another street, effectively removing himself from the crowd.

'_Finally! A chance to breath'_ the boy thought with a giggle.

So wrapped up in his thoughts, the poor child had failed to realize that there was someone else at the corner he was about to turn…until it was too late.

**BAM!**

He boy and the other person both collided and fell to the floor.

"I-I'm s-so sorry!" the boy apologized, dusting himself off and pulling himself up.

"You clumsy fool! You've ruined my outfit!" the person growled.

The boy looked at the person and noticed that it was a boy around his age, with raven colored hair, a dark blue eye (which was currently narrowed in a glare at him), and an eye patch covering his right eye, and he was dressed in such finery that it was easy to tell he was a noble. Though now, the boy's jacket was stained with jam.

"I-i-" the boy stuttered again but was cut off by the other boy.

"Save it! I don't have time nor the need to listen to your petty excuses!"

"I-I'm sorry. I-I'll pay for the damage!" the boy stuttered out softly.

The boy scoffed.

"These cloths are worth more than you will ever see in your life time!"

The boy flinched, knowing that the other one was right.

"Master…perhaps you can find a use for this boy so that he can repay the debt owed to you," an older male voice said, causing the boy in question to jump.

Looking up quickly, the boy finally noticed that another person was with them. He was a tall male with raven colored hair, and coal black eyes. His skin was pale and lifeless looking.

"And how do you suppose we go about that, Sebastian?" the boy asked, turning to look at his companion with a raised eyebrow.

The one identified as Sebastian began to speak.

"Why don't we have him come and work as a servant? I'm sure we could use the extra hands."

The noble boy seemed to consider it for a moment and then he turned towards the boy with a devilish smirk on his face.

"What a good idea. From now on, you are a servant of the Phantomhive household."

The boy stared at the other one, a million things running through his head. After a few seconds, he gulped and nodded.

"O-okay…"

**I know it's a cruddy start but it will get better later on I promise. Anyways, please tell me your thoughts ^.^**


	2. That Maid, The Mansion

**Thank you for the reviews! Please keep it up! ^.^**

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

The Mansion

As they drove in the carriage back to the mansion, Ciel kept glancing at the boy across from him who was currently playing with his thumbs. He noted the boy's raggedy clothes with disgust, but then, moved on to the boy's face which was covered by an over- sized hat that covered all of his face.

"How do you see like that?" Ciel asked his companion.

The boy shrugged, still fiddling with his thumbs.

"Stop that! It's annoying!" Ciel demanded.

The boy stopped.

"*Sigh*. Since you are going to be living with in my home, I might as well know your name." Ciel sighed.

"I-I am C-Ce-" the boy started but was cut off

"Stop that stuttering!"

"S-sorry…"

"What did I say?"

The boy gulped and took in a shaky breath.

"Sorry."

Ciel smirked.

"Good. Now, go on, I don't have all day,"

"My name is Celes,"

"Celes? What kind of name is that?"

"My mother…she liked the name Celeste but since I was born a boy, she shortened it to Celes,"

"I see."

The ride was silent after that. After a few more minutes, the carriage stopped. The butler opened the door and helped his master out who was then followed by Celes. Celes looked up from under his hat and gaped. The mansion was HUGE.

"Well? Are you just going to stay there, or are you coming?" Ciel asked, smirking at Celes and then walking towards his mansion.

Gasping, Celes scurried after Ciel. As they walked up the path to the house, Celes worked up his courage and asked the question he was dying to know.

"Umm…ex-excuse me? Umm…wha-what is y-your name?"

Ciel sighed tiredly.

"What did I say about that damned stuttering?"

"Sorry, it won't happen again,"

"Good. Now, to answer your question, my name is Ciel Phantomhive, but you will address me as Master Phantomhive or young master, do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand…"

They reached the mansion's door. The butler opened it and they were met with the sight of broken dishes, mud tracks, and screaming. Celes blinked and then looked at his new employer and noticed that he looked irritated, and then he looked at the butler who had an indifferent expression on his face.

"QUIET!" Ciel yelled, stopping the screaming.

The three people stopped what they were doing. Celes noted that the oldest of the three people had had their hair on fire and the female had a pitcher in her hand as the last drops of water plopped onto the males head. The youngest was restraining the man, so, as that the oldest wouldn't run around as the female poured water on his head. Celes had a hard time containing his laughter.

"What in the world happened here?" Ciel asked, eyeing the mess.

And all the servants started stuttering, trying to explain.

"Stop!" Ciel yelled, putting a hand up to silence them. He then pointed to the red head female.

"Mey-Rin, you explain."

"Y-yes sir!" the woman identified as Mey-Rin replied.

"Well, you see sir, Bard set the kitchen on fire and then his hair caught on fire and he started screaming. Finny was out working in the yard and then, he came in to see what was wrong. Meanwhile, I was carrying the dishes and bard came out the kitchen and crashed into me, making me drop the plates, and when finny came in and saw Bard's hair on fire, he started yelling and that made me start. So then-"

"Stop. I've heard enough" Ciel said exasperatedly.

"Sebastian! Clean up this mess! You three, go get cleaned up. Sebastian, when you are done, bring me my afternoon snack, I'll be in my study." Ciel was about to walk away and up the stairs when he heard Celes start talking.

"Umm! Please wait! What am I supposed to do?"

Ciel stared at Celes for a moment before sighing. Celes noticed that he seemed to do that a lot.

"Mey-Rin, show him to an empty room and run him a bath. Finny, I want you to get some of your clothes and lend them to him. As of today, Celes is going to be a servant here." When he was finished, the two servants nodded.

"Yes sir!" they chorused.

They then turned to Celes, along with Bard, and sang happily at the same time: "Welcome to the Phantomhive manner, Celes!"

"Uh, umm…T-thank y-you!"

With that, Mey-Rin rushed him to his room and ran his water, claiming that she would come back later with his clothes.

Sighing, Celes stripped out of his clothes and tied up his hair. Just as he was about to go in, he noticed that he couldn't find his stuffed fox.

'_Okay. I know I had it in me when I went into the carriage, but…!' _Celes's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh no! I left Kiki in the carriage!" he muttered, wrapping the towel around himself and walking out of the bathroom to put back on his clothes.

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><p>Ciel walked towards Celes's room with Sebastian and the servants. He had come to give him the stuffed fox he left in the carriage. Sebastian had 'forgotten' to give it to Celes when he had gotten out of the carriage and had forgotten it. Sebastian was just accompanying him out of boredom, Mey-Rin was delivering his clothes, and Finny came because he wanted to speak more with the new servant, and Bard had just tagged along, also curious about this new comer.<p>

When they reached the door, instead of knocking, Ciel just pushed the door open…. he heard Finny and Bard quickly turn around and Sebastian sigh and turn around. Mey-Rin blushed and past out from a nose bleed. Only Ciel stayed put. He caught a sight of smooth creamy and pale legs and a smooth and flawless back. Celes gasped and turned around; staring wide eyed at Ciel's shocked face. They stared at each other in stunned silence for a few more seconds before the silence was broken….by Celes's scream….

"EEEEEEEEEEKKKK!"

Ciel grabbed the door handle and swung the door closed; his face flushed a deep shade of red. While Celes wrapped the towel around his body tighter, his face flushed. Ciel blushed as the mental image of Celes's scandalously glad body came rushing full force into his mind.

Soft, smooth, flawless, creamy, and pale skin. Subtle curves, petite figure, and a….. swelling chest. Rosy red lips, petite but small button nose, and smoky grey eyes framed by long lashes. A heart shaped face framed by snow white wisps of hair that got loose from the bun…. Ciel slammed the door back open, his 'gentlemen' manners completely forgotten as he stared at Celes in shock.

"YOU'RE A GIRL!"

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><p><strong>Yeah, I know it's a short chapter but I wanted to leave it off there. Anyways, please tell me your thoughts! Until next time! ^.^<strong>


	3. That Maid, The Start Of Your Maid Work

**A/N: thanks for the reviews! Please keep it up! Oh and merry Christmas! This is my Christmas present to you guys!**

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><p><em>The Start Of Your Maid Work<em>

Celes fidgeted as she stood in her new boss's office. She was clad in one of Mey-Rin's spare maid uniforms. The uniform was several sizes too big for her which it showed because the bust of the uniform was loose and would've sagged if not for the fact that Celes was holding it up. The sleeves fell off her shoulders and fell half way down her upper arm, the waist was very loose so she had the apron tied at it tightest and an extra white ribbon tie around her waist and had it get tied into a bow, the uniform went all the way down to her knees, her legs were in form fitting thigh high socks, and she was wearing the shoes she had been wearing before. Celes stared at her master worriedly as he worked on a stack of paper work that seemed to be a mountain high. She was quickly snapped out of her thoughts when he cleared his throat.

"Sooo, you are a girl, correct?" he asked, blushing slightly.

"Umm… biologically speaking, yes."

"So why is it that you lied to me, and came to my home as a boy?"

"Sorry sir, but, if you recall, I never actually lied to you, you yourself decided I was male,"

Ceil glared at her, which caused the poor girl to flinch and looked down.

"That may be true but you gave me no reason to doubt you were male, even your voice sounded like an adolescent boy,"

It was now Celes's turn to clear her throat, and when she spoke, her voice was now feminine sounding.

"Sorry, is that better? I only sound like this so when I look for work, people will believe that I am male. As I'm sure you know, it's easier to get work as a man then as a female,"

Ceil just stared at her in shock, her voice was really pretty, it only caused heat to burn his cheeks even more.

"Whatever. Anyways, is Celes your real name?"

"Actually, my real name is Celeste b-but you can call me Celes for short! I-I mean o-only if y-you want to… a-all my old friends called me Celes…" Celeste answered, starting to stutter and her voice became a mere whisper at the end.

"I see then… Celeste" Ceil answered, looking down at his paperwork.

'_Is she implying that we should be friends?' _he nearly scoffed at that thought, bonds were useless, they only caused people to be weak.

As the awkward silence dragged on, Sebastian watched the ordeal, smirking slightly at the flushed faces of his master and Celeste.

"Uh, umm… p-please don't throw me out! I-I really want to work here!" Celeste exclaimed, breaking the silence.

Ceil stared at her in shock, his eyes going wide as he leaned back in his chair.

Celeste's eyes also widened in shock as she took a step back and clamped both her hands over her mouth, an embarrassed blush heating up her entire face.

After ceil got over his shock, he started to speak.

"I-" but he was cut off by Celeste.

"I am so sorry sir! Please forgive me! I-I did not mean it! I-if you wish to fire me because of my outburst I… I will understand…." Celeste yelled, but then, when she spoke of him firing her, her voice dropped down to a whisper.

Ceil sighed, slightly agitated that she had cut him off. Rubbing his forehead, he began to speak.

"As I was about to say before I was interrupted"- he sent a glare towards Celeste, who, in turn, flinched-"I will not fire you, but! I do want your sworn loyalty to me! You will never betray me and you shall never lie to me! Is that understood? This is all I ask of you and if you can't do that then I will truly have no need for you and I will send you out and you will have to seek employment elsewhere, and, you will have to find another way to pay back the money you owe me for ruining my outfit." He stated firmly.

Ceil glanced over to Celeste and was taken aback to see that her excited, and happy face, he expected a different reaction. Her hands were clasped together in front of her and her eyes shone with happiness. Ceil noted, embarrassed, that the top of the uniform started to sag dangerously low to her bust, but before it completely sagged, Celeste ran to Ceil, her arms spread out wide as she hugged him from across the table. Ceil blushing face flamed as it consumed his face as he was pulled into the hug. He noted that Celeste smelled nice, an indescribable sent.

"W- what are y-you doing?" Ceil stuttered out, blushing like mad.

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much! You have my word Master Phantomhive! I will always be by your side until you want me no more!" Celeste exclaimed happily.

"I… I…. I… get-get off me!" Ceil yelled.

Celeste quickly got off him and bowed repeatedly before she smiled brightly at him and then she turned to Sebastian, the smile still on her face.

"I'll be in your care for now on! I hope you can help show me the ropes!" and with that, she ran out to go and find the other servants to apologize for miss leading them and to reintroduce herself.

Ceil stared after her, the memory of her smiling face still stuck in his mind. To him, her smile reminded him of the sun, really bright and warm. Sebastian cleared his throat to get his master's attention. It worked because Ceil quickly snapped his head away from the door and turned to face Sebastian's smirking face.

"What?" he snapped.

"Oh nothing. Just thinking about how she is a cute girl, and how that when she is older she might be able to render grown men speechless. Don't you agree, young master?" Sebastian answered, trying to act and sound innocent.

Ceil blushed as he gaped at the demon. His mouth opened and closed like a fish as he tried to think of a comeback but found that he couldn't think of one. So, he just chose the weakest one there was.

"Sh-shut up! D-don't you have work to do!"

Sebastian chuckled before he disappeared to go finish his tasks. Once he was gone, Ceil slammed his head down on the table and groaned. No one had ever rendered him speechless before and got him to blush so much like _she _did.

'_I wonder if it was a good idea to let her stay here,'_

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><p><strong>Yes I know it's short. I'm trying to make them longer but it's not working as you can tell. Oh well! Anyways, I hope you have a nice holiday. Please review! Until next time! Bye!<strong>


	4. That Maid, Omnipotent

**Sooo sorry for the delay! Please enjoy this chapter and Review!**

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><p>Omnipotent<p>

"I'm such a horrible person!" Finny cried, tears streaming down his face as Celeste tried to console him.

"Uh… um… F- Finny, i- it's alright, it's not your f- fault… b- besides it h- happened y- yesterday…" Celeste murmured rubbing the crying boys back.

"B- but!"

"Finny, if w- we don't finish tending to the garden, won't the master be even madder at you?"

Finny sniffled and nodded his head.

"I guess… hey! You only stuttered once!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Celeste blinked and stared at the smiling face of her male companion. She then started smiling and giggling.

"Yeah! I guess you are right," the two then started laughing.

"Hmph. I'm glad to see that all my money I pay my servants is wasted, seeing as they just slack off." The two adolescents stopped laughing, gulped, and faced their master who was glaring at them.

'_Oh no! I made him mad at me again!'_ Celeste thought sadly as she scrambled to her feet and bowed.

"S- s- sorry s- sir! I- it w- won't ha- happen a- again! I- I pro- promise!" Ciel stared at her for a moment before he let out a long, suffering sigh and turned away from her fidgeting form.

"Whatever. Just get back to work." And with that, he walked away.

Celeste let out a long breath before turning back towards the patch of weeds she was working on. Finny stared at her curiously, wondering why she seemed so nervous around the master, but decided not to voice his question when he saw the forlorn look on his white- haired friend's face.

.

"Young master, is something wrong?" Sebastian asked as he helped Ciel into the carriage. The sour look that his master normally wore was a lot more potent than normal.

Ciel shook his head and sighed, an irritated look on his face.

"I just don't see how she can smile and laugh _and_ not turn into a nervous, stuttering mess around Finny when she cannot even talk properly around me. She can't even smile half as happily at me as she does with Finny. The last time she even smiled at me like _that_ was that time in my office when I said I would not fire her." Ciel glared out the window and banged his fist against it. "Damnitt! She hardly even speaks to me anymore! Hell! She even tries to _avoid_ me!"

Sebastian stared at his master, a knowing smile starting to grace his face.

"Have you tried talking to her about how you feel neglected that she won't give you the time of day? I'm sure if you told her how _jealous_ you are at the fact that she pays more attention to Finny then she does to you, I'm sure that she'll happily fix that problem." Sebastian stated, though he had a little bit of a teasing tone.

Ciel whipped his head towards Sebastian his face red and he started spluttering.

"Wh- what? N- neglected? J- _jealous_? Me? Feeling jealous and neglected? That's preposterous! D- don't say ridiculous things like that!"

"As you wish, young master. Though it makes me wonder why you are so vehemently trying to deny your true feelings," and with that, Sebastian closed the carriage door and started the carriage.

As he whipped the horses to make them start moving, he sighed and thought: _'Really young master, can you not see that girl is a pleaser type of person? That she will do anything to please you,'_

Ciel stared at the closed door, his jaw slacked open, he then turned a darker shade of red, and turned his head away from the carriage door to face the window and stare at the passing scenery.

'_Hmph. My true feelings? I'm just mad that she is not grateful that I took her in and decided to keep her instead of tossing her out on the streets. After all, she did lie to me.'_ As soon as he thought that, the memory of her only clad in a white towel came rushing back full force into his mind.

'_Ugh! What the hell is wrong with me?'_ steam was pouring out of his ears as his brain went on over load with embarrassment.

.

"Aaaaaah~! I did it again!" Finny cried, staring at the tree he broke.

"Wow Finny! You are…. very…. strong….." Celeste said, a dumbfounded look on her face as she stared at the snapped in half tree.

"He was really mad when I broke the cane yesterday… Sebastian's gonna be angry again….."

"Um… Finny, it's not that bad. I'm sure he won't be too mad,"

"I promised to watch "Rowdy Count VIII" with the young masteeeer!"

"Um… Finny…?"

"If he gets mad then I can't watch…. Hm?"

Both Celeste and Finny turned towards the noise that was coming towards them.

"Could it be, the Rowdy Cou- Gahh!"

Celeste stared wide eyed at what was happening to poor Finny, when suddenly, the person grabbed her and started to do the same thing as she did to Finny.

"KYAAAAAAA!" "GAAAAAAAAH!" were the screams that came from the mansion

.

Ciel and Sebastian walked up the steps toward the mansion.

"Good work, young master. I will have the tea prepared shortly."

Ciel nodded as Sebastian opened the door, as he looked inside his mansion, he felt his jaw drop.

"Hm? What's wro—!" Sebastian started, but cut himself off when he saw the mansion.

It was super sparkled.

"My mansion…"

"What in the world…. is this?"

"My mansion…" Ciel repeated.

"GAAAAAAAH! SEBASTIAAAAAN!" the servants, excluding Celeste who was nowhere to be seen, came rushing up to Sebastian and hugged him as if their lives depended on it.

"What in the world is this?" Sebastian asked, but once he got a good look at the servants, he changed his question.

"More like…. What is with that appearance, you two?" Finny had on a pair of bunny ears and gloves while Bard had on a bib and a frilly head piece, while Mey-Rin still looked the same.

"Go ask that crazy girl!" Bard declared pointing to where said 'crazy girl' was.

Ciel and Sebastian walked towards the door that Bard had pointed at. They creaked the door open and peeked inside only to hear and see a familiar person as she finished decorating Tanaka. Sebastian and Ciel stared dumbfounded at the way Tanaka was dressed.

"Ah!" the person cried.

'_Shit!'_ Ciel thought.

"Ciel! I wanted to see youuuu!" the girl yelled, running over and hugging said boy.

"E- Elizabeth?" Ciel stammered out.

Elizabeth squeezed him hard and laughed. "No, no, no! Call me Lizzy! Aren't I always saying that!"

Ciel couldn't reply, Elizabeth was getting ready to break his back.

"Ahh~! Just as I thought, no matter how many times I look at you, you're the cutest~!" she exclaimed, squeezing the poor boy harder.

"Ahem… Miss Elizabeth…" Sebastian started, trying to help out Ciel so he could escape his torment.

Elizabeth let go of Ciel and semi- curtsied at the butler.

"Oh my! Sebastian, good day!"

"It's been a while since I have laid eyes on you," Sebastian replied while bowing.

"I have a souvenir for you too!" Sebastian paled slightly at that.

"Eh…" quickly, Elizabeth put a pink bonnet covered in flowers and little strawberries on Sebastian's head.

"You see!"

As Elizabeth droned on about how cute it was and how the pink livened up his dreary, black clothing, Ciel was shaking from unheard laughter, while the servants went all out laughing.

Glaring at the servants, which shut them up, Sebastian smiled and started speaking to Elizabeth.

"Regard for the things I wear, that sort of regard for me… it is a great honor."

"It's fine!" Elizabeth answered, smiling at him.

Before anything else could be said, the door that led to the kitchen area creaked open and out came Celeste, carrying a tray of tea.

"Oh! Master Phantomhive! Sebastian! You are back!" She said, surprise coloring her tone and face.

Sebastian, Ciel, and the servants stared dumbfounded as they took in what Elizabeth had done to the poor girl. Celeste had a pair of black cat ears on her head, a black chocker with a bell hanging from it around her neck, frilly; lacy; fingerless black gloves that went up to her elbows, and she had a black kitty tail to complete the outfit.

Ciel stared at the girl as she fidgeted and blushed under every ones gaze. Sebastian had a hard time trying to control the urge to go over to her and pet her.

'_How in the world did Miss Elizabeth find out my fetish for cats?'_

Ciel gulped as his eyes met Celeste's embarrassed ones. They stared at each other in what seemed like forever, but was actually only a few seconds before Celeste turned a darker shade of red and quickly looked down, averting her gaze to the steaming tea pot. Ciel cleared his throat and began talking.

"Ahem… what in bloody hell are you wearing?" Celeste flinched and took a miniscule step back.

"Th- the m- miss re- requested th- that I we- wear th- this…" she murmured, shifting her weight from foot to foot nervously.

'_Again with that blasted stuttering!'_ he thought, an irk mark on his forehead.

"I see…" he replied.

"Hey, hey, Ciel~ who is this girl? Hm?" Elizabeth asked, a scary look on her face.

Ciel started sweating and twitching nervously. "Uh… she is my new maid…."

"A maid huh? I see…" Elizabeth reverted back to her smiley self and skipped over to Celeste.

"I'm Elizabeth! Ciel's _fiancée_!" she exclaimed but she put heavy emphasis on the fiancée part.

"FI… FIANCEE~!" the three servants yelled out, surprise clearly written all over their face and it colored their tone of voice whilst Celeste stared, wide eyed at the girl.

The three servants looked towards Sebastian for conformation and when he nodded they all turned stiff with shock, though they were ignored as Sebastian and Ciel waited for what Celeste's reply would be as she shook her head to clear the shock.

Celeste noticed the emphasis on the fiancée part but choose to ignore it and brushed it off, she was sure Elizabeth didn't mean anything by it. Plastering on a smile, she bowed her head a little as a sign of respect and began to talk.

"I- I am Celeste! I- it's nice t- to meet you!"

Elizabeth pouted; not liking how the girl was cuter then her and her stuttering only made her even more cuter. However, she quickly wiped the pout off her face and put back on her smiley one, she then started to converse with her. Ciel glared at the girl, he had two irk marks on his face now.

'_Why in bloody hell can she smile so happily at someone she just met and not stutter like crazy like she does with me!'_ deciding to interrupt Celeste and Elizabeth's chatter, he walked over to them and made his presence known.

"Celeste, what in the world is that tea for?" Celeste yelped, startled, the tray getting ready to fall.

Ciel, noticing the dangerously teetering tray, snapped his hands out to help stabilize the tray, and in the process of grabbing the tray, his hands were placed on top of Celeste's. Both pre- teens gasped in shock at the contact, as it sent electric currents tingling up and down their arms. Blushing, they quickly pulled away from each other.

"T- thank y- y- you m- m- master. I- I'll j- just b- be g- g- going th- then," Celeste whispered, head bowed so her bangs could cover up her burning face. Spinning around on her heels, she briskly walked back towards the door that lead to the kitchen, opened it and all but ran back down into the kitchen.

Once she was safely back inside the kitchen, she placed the now cold tea on a counter and slid down onto the floor, her blush turned even darker.

'_What… in the world… was… that?' _she thought, a hand placed over her rapidly beating heart in an attempt to slow it down.

.

Ciel stared after her for a moment before shaking his head and turning back towards Elizabeth who was none too pleased at the exchange she saw. Sebastian, however, found the exchange highly amusing. How he pitied the naivety of the two.

"Ahem… More importantly, Lizzy, why are you here? What about auntie?"

"I wanted to see you so I rushed out in secret and came here!" she exclaimed, all the while rubbing her head on top of his.

Ciel sweat dropped. "In secret? What were you thinking?"

Elizabeth just giggled and Ciel gently pushed her away and turned towards Sebastian.

"If she left without saying anything, then auntie must be worried. Sebastian, contact—" before he could finish, Elizabeth quickly grabbed him by the back of his coat and dragged him towards the ballroom.

"Ciel~ come here~! Look, look! I made the ballroom cute too, didn't I!"

Ciel just stared at the ballroom, a gloomy look on his face.

"That's right! Hey Ciel, since it took a lot of work to make the ballroom like this, let's have a dance party today! I'll dance with my fiancée as an escort! Kyaaa~!" she continued, hands clasped as she lost herself into a fantasy.

Ciel twitched. "Wha…"

"A… dance?" Sebastian repeated.

"Wear the clothes I picked for you!" Elizabeth exclaimed, grabbing Ciel's hands.

"Wait a…" Ciel started but was cut off.

"I think it will definitely be cute!"

"Hey! Who said it was fine—"

"Dancing with Ciel in the clothes I picked for him, it's like a dream! I will have to dress stylishly with all my might too!"

Ciel tried to get her attention again but Sebastian grabbed him and shook his head. Besides, Elizabeth was already too far gone into her own fantasy land.

.

Ciel sat in his office, his aura just pooled out gloom.

Sebastian sighed. "Lady Elizabeth is the previous head of family's younger sister. The daughter of the Middleford- Marquis family that Lady Francis married into. Also, you cannot turn your fiancée away coldly, so it can't be helped.

Ciel sighed annoyed. "It's not like I _became_ her fiancée, I was _forced _to do it."

"However, today it would be more profitable to obey her and follow her wishes, yes? You also still haven't finished the current game."

"Indeed. Just fill me quickly with dinner or something and then bring it away. I don't have time to associate with little girls and their hobbies."

"However, it appears Lady Elizabeth wishes to hold a dance…." Ciel twitched but stayed quiet.

"… Young master."

"What?"

"I do not have proof but… is it true you do not have dancing instruction?" Ciel remained silent and turned his chair around.

Sebastian sighed. "It's no wonder. It seems that even if you were invited to a party, you would be a wallflower." Ciel crumpled up his paper work in his hands in irritation/ embarrassment.

"I'm busy with work. I don't have time to busy myself with games…" Ciel muttered.

Sebastian turned Ciel's chair around so that Ciel was facing him. "I'll take your word for it, but young master, it's often said that a dance is a 'social' thing. At evening and dinner parties and the like, good grooming has become a must." Sebastian's face came closer to Ciel's as an ominous aura surrounded him. "If you can become an elite gentleman, dancing should be natural. If you were to refuse an invention from a customer's daughter, in high society, your reputation would go down the gutter."

Ciel leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I get it already! It's fine like this. Who would call for a home tutor?"

Sebastian took out his pocket watch as he talked. "From now on, there won't be any time to call for a tutor. Since just demeanor and pose are sufficient, you will master the basics in one song."

"Then who will teach me? No matter how you look at the people of this house…" Ciel trailed off.

"Please don't worry." Sebastian answered, snapping his pocket watch closed. "Though you are being insolent, I will be your dance instructor." He smiled as he said this.

Ciel prickled at that. "You idiot! Do you think I would dance with a big male partner like you?"

Sebastian smirked. "Oh? Then would it be alright if it was someone of your size?"

Ciel huffed. "Anything would be better then you."

"I see… then please wait a moment." Before Ciel could ask why, he was gone.

.

Celeste walked sullenly behind Sebastian as they walked to Ciel's office. Sebastian had come and found Celeste, cleaning the library, telling her that the young master wished to see her.

'_I wonder what I did wrong…'_ Celeste thought, letting out a long, drawn out sigh.

"Is something the matter Celeste?" Sebastian asked, though she couldn't help but feel that he wasn't really concerned.

Mentally chastising herself at thinking so poorly of her superior, Celeste answered Sebastian's question.

"Un… it's j- just that… well… S- Sebastian… you're close to Master Phantomhive, right?"

Sebastian nodded his head, a wry smirk gracing his lips. "Yes… I suppose you could say that. Why?"

Celeste fidgeted a little before answering. "Well… d- do you know w- why he ha- hates m- me s- so much?"

Sebastian's eyes widened in surprise a little before his face returned to his normal stoic one.

"The young master does not hate you. He is just a little… difficult… with everyone."

Celeste gave out a soft giggle before nodding her head in agreement. "I can tell. But… he seems especially cold to me… or do you think I'm over thinking things?" she asked glancing up at the butler before turning her eyes to her feet.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her. _'She's a lot more vigilant then I took her for,'_

"I don't believe you are over thinking it… why don't you ask him for yourself?"

Celeste seemed to think about it for a moment before she smiled up at him and nodded her head.

"Mmh… maybe…"

They stopped walking once they were outside of Ciel's office. Sebastian knocked on the door and he was granted permission to enter by Ciel's muffled 'come in'. Sebastian opened the door and stepped inside, followed by Celeste as Ciel looked up.

"Well? What took you so— what is she doing here?"

Celeste flinched at the harshness of his tone. Sebastian answered Ciel's question, breaking the building tension in the room.

"Well, you wished to dance with someone who was more your size and feminine, right young master? Well, I figured that Celeste would be the perfect practice, dance partner.'

Both teens stared at him, wide- eyed with shock. Celeste started spluttering nonsense while Ciel struggled to find the right words to say.

"What the hell?" he finally got out.

"Now, now, young master. You need someone to dance with; besides, do you really want to embarrass yourself in front of your fiancée?"

Ciel glared at the butler before he sighed, got up from his chair, and made his way over to Celeste who was looking down at her feet and blushing. Ciel let out a sigh as he watched the fidgeting girl.

"Well… the quicker we do this, the faster we can be done." He muttered as he grabbed Celeste's hand and led her to the middle of his office.

"That's the spirit, young master." Sebastian mocked, though he masked it with a smile.

Ciel turned his red face towards the butler and grumbled as a way to tell him to shut up and get started. Sebastian smiled as he started to instruct the two in the waltz.

After about twenty minutes, Sebastian was starting to get irritated with the two pre- teens. Their clumsiness coupled with the fact with their own awkwardness and embarrassment only made it harder to teach them. As the two spun, Ciel tripped over his own feet and caused both him and Celeste to go tumbling down. Opening her eyes, Celeste squeaked as she saw the position both her and Ciel were in. Ciel had his knees planted on either side of her hips; his hand still clutched her waste while his other hand was still intertwined with hers, and his face was dangerously close to hers. Ciel stared into Celeste's shocked grey eyes, dark blue meeting grey. It took him a second to register what position they were in, but when he did, he blushed from his hairline all the way down to his neck, even his ears were red, and Celeste's face was just as red as his. They stared at each other and stayed in that position for a few moments, lost in each other's gaze until Sebastian cleared his throat, bringing them both back to reality. Quickly, Ciel scrambled off her and turned away from her. Celeste got up and busied herself with smoothing her uniform out, her bangs covering her face. Ciel cleared his throat awkwardly whilst Sebastian just watched the two, an amused smirk on his face.

"I think that's enough for today. Celeste, go and finish attending to your duties." Ciel stated harshly, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

Celeste would have normally just nodded her head and scurried off but she pouted and stayed right where she was. She was tired of him treating her so coldly with no apparent reason. After a couple of seconds, Ciel turned around to face the girl, and was taken aback to see her pouting face. It was oddly… cute.

"M-Master P- Phantomhive, w- why a- are y- you s- so c- cold t- towards m- me?" she had sounded a lot more confident in her head, but of course her stuttering messed her up.

Ciel stared at the girl, shocked. For one, he couldn't believe she had actually spoken what was on her mind, and second he was shocked that she thought he was cold to her. Wasn't it the other way around?

"What are you talking about? I don't hate you! You hate me! Ever since that time in my office you've done all you could to avoid me!"

It was Celeste's turn to stare at him in shock. "But… t- the o- others said tha- that you h- hated l- liars and since you a- accused me of l- lying, I th- thought y- you ha- hated me…"

Ciel sighed and made a mental note of telling Sebastian to go and kill those three servants of his before he returned his attention to Celeste who was now grinning at him with the grin he recognized as the one she had first gave him that time in the office.

"I'm so relieved! I am so glad you don't hate me!"

"Oh sure. _Now _you don't stutter and actually smile at me." He muttered turning his head to the side.

Celeste giggled. "That's because I thought you resented me so that's why I stuttered! It made me nervous to be around you!" Ciel glowered at the girl and 'hmphed' her.

"Do… do you… want to continue practicing?" Celeste asked timidly.

Ciel sighed and shook his head. "No… I think that's enough for today." Celeste frowned but nodded her head and left. Sebastian sighed and shook his head.

"In any case. First of all, please do something about your sour look. He pinched Ciel's cheek and tried to get him to smile. "It is rude to the lady. Even if it's a lie, please make it seem like you're having fun." He grabbed Ciel's other cheek and tried to force him to smile. "Alright, smile happily!"

Ciel slapped his hands and pulled away. "Let go! Somehow I've….. smiling…. To smile happily, I've… forgotten…" he said, staring intently at his family ring.

"Young master…"

Celeste felt her heart shatter at Ciel's words. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop but she was going to knock and ask if he wanted anything to snack on when she had heard his words. Frowning, she stared intently at the door before sighing and walking away from the door, down towards the ballroom, a new resolve bubbling inside of her.

She was going to get back Ciel's smile, one way or the other.

No matter what.

When she reached the ballroom, she noticed that Elizabeth and the others were already down there. She glanced at the servants and giggled. Finny was dressed up as a kitty maid, bard as a school girl, and Tanaka was dressed in a kimono. When Elizabeth saw her, she quickly ran over to the giggling girl. Elizabeth pinned on bunny ears and a bunny tail on the unsuspecting girl.

"There! That's better!" she declared before going over to Mey-Rin. Celeste sighed and made her way over to the other dressed up servants. Casting a look towards Finny, she gave him a strained smile which he returned and then turned to watch as Ciel stopped Elizabeth from taking away Mey-Rin's glasses.

Elizabeth rushed over to Ciel and started to happily chatter with him. Celeste had to admit, he did look rather… nice in his outfit. As Elizabeth pointed towards the servants in costumes, Ciel felt his gaze linger on Celeste who now had on rabbit ears. He found that the ears suited her rather well… a little too well. Quickly catching himself staring, he brought his attention back to Elizabeth who had stopped talking and was now staring intently at his ring.

"Ciel! Where's the ring I prepared for you? There was a ring that matched the western style clothing wasn't there?" Elizabeth asked a scary look on her face.

Ciel tugged his hand away. "This ring is fine." Elizabeth pouted.

"No! I went to a lot of trouble to make everything adorable! Only the ring is not cute!" she yelled, pointing at him. She then started crying. "Are you saying you don't want the things I brought back for you, Ciel?" Ciel sweat- dropped at her.

He sighed as he tried to explain to her his reason but before he could, Elizabeth snatched the ring from his thumb and started to inspect it, complaining about how the one she picked was better.

"GIVE IT BACK!" Celeste, Elizabeth, Bard, Mey-Rin, and Finny all flinched at Ciel's harsh and furious tone. The look on Ciel's face was also scary, he was beyond furious.

"Give that back, Elizabeth!" he said in a softer voice, but it was just as cold as before.

Elizabeth started to tear up. "Wh… why are you mad like that? I worked… so hard…" Ciel just glared at her.

"I just made you cute! So why are you mad like that? You're terrible! This ring, I… HATE IT!" and with that she threw the ring on the ground, shattering it.

Ciel's eye widened and he lifted his hand up, getting ready to smack her. Elizabeth closed her eyes and waited for the impact. Celeste's eyes widened as she took a step forward, getting ready to run over to them when Sebastian appeared right behind him and grabbed his raised hand. He managed to calm Ciel down who was staring at his broken ring and panting. Sebastian then turned to Elizabeth and explained why the ring was so important to Ciel.

"That sort of… important ring… I…" Elizabeth had tears streaming down her face now.

Ciel bent down and picked up the broken ring, examining it.

"Ciel… I…" before anyone had time to comprehend what was going on; Ciel threw the ring out of the open window. Celeste stared at him, flabbergasted.

"Ciel! What are you doing?" Elizabeth cried as she rushed to the window.

"I don't care… about that thing. It's just an old ring."

'_Not important?'_ Celeste thought as she stared at him.

"This ring is proof that the head of the Phantomhive house is 'Ciel Phantomhive'." They all stared at him, stunned into silence.

'What's with that face?" Ciel asked Elizabeth, whose face was a mess from her tears and a runny nose.

"B…. but…" she started.

Ciel took out a handkerchief and patted at her tears before handing the handkerchief to her.

"It's a terrible face. And you call yourself a lady. I wouldn't want to invite a lady with a face like that to a dance, would I?"

Elizabeth stared at him in surprise.

He held out his hand to her. "Let's forget those bad things and dance until dawn with evening party etiquette, shall we? My lady?"

Elizabeth smiled through her tears as she took his hand and he led her into a waltz.

"It really is… like a dream!" Celeste felt her heart clench at the sight of them dancing.

She was shook out of her reverie when she felt a slight tap on her shoulder. Startled, she looked up and found Finny smiling at her sheepishly, hand held out in a gesture of asking her to dance with him. Smiling, she took his hand and he led her out on to the dance floor, swaying them to the tempo of Sebastian's violin. Celeste giggled as Finny twirled her.

Ciel felt his eye narrow as he stared at Finny and Celeste, or more importantly, Celeste's smiling face. He felt his eyes narrow even more when he spotted Finny's hand on Celeste's waist as they begun swaying to the violin again.

"Ciel?" Ciel quickly snapped out of his thoughts and focused back on Elizabeth.

Instead of answering her, he twirled her and she giggled. Before he could realize what happened, it wasn't Elizabeth in his arms anymore, it was Celeste. Celeste blushed when she realized she was now dancing with Ciel but she smiled up at him with the cutest, embarrassed smile on her face, which caused Ciel's breath to hitch and his heart to skip a beat. They were quiet for a few minutes as they danced to the music, both enjoying being in each other's presence, when Celeste glanced up at him.

"Master… how are you?" Ciel stared at her in surprise.

"What do you mean?" he asked, masking his surprise.

"Master, I know that ring meant a lot to you, there's no point in trying to hide it. Even if you can fool Lady Elizabeth and the others, you cannot fool me, contrary to what you would like to believe, I find you rather easy to read. So please don't hide your true feelings from me, if you are hurting, show it, I'm always going to be right here for you. Even if it's just that you need someone to talk to, I will always be here for you, okay? No matter if everyone you care about and even if the world turns on you, I'll always be here for you, even if you don't wish for me to be." Ciel stared at Celeste in wonder.

'_How… how can she see through me and read me so easily? I've always prided myself on my way to deceive people but how can she see through me as if I were glass?'_ he thought, his mouth moving but no sound came out.

"I see…" he finally got out, and even though most people would've found that insensitive of him, considering if they said something like what Celeste said, the smile she sent him let him know that she knew what he truly wanted to convey but just couldn't. and with that understanding smile, she was gone and in her place was Elizabeth who glomped him, happy to be dancing with him again, but he paid her no heed as he was focused on Celeste who was currently being lifted up by Finny and being twirled around.

Celeste glanced back at Ciel. She knew he was still upset but she hoped tomorrow he would feel a little bit better.

Ciel's eye narrowed dangerously as he came to a realization, he liked the feel of Celeste in his arms… a lot.

But he didn't like Celeste in the arms of another man.

_Not at all._

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><p><strong>Wow, that was…. Well… I don't know but sorry for the delay but please review! Look forward to the next chapter!<strong>


	5. That Maid, The Strongest

**I can't even begin to express how sorry I am for this absense-.-" ugh, I swear! That was probably the longest absense I've ever done-.-" I completely understand if you guys hate me right about now."**

**No matter how many times I apologize, it still don't make a difference does it? I can explain why I didn't uploade for so long though! My computer caught a virus and my mom was procrastinating on getting it cleaned out for me, even though it was for FREE!(typical-.-) So I was using my home computer for a while. My parents wouldn't let me upload using the home computer so that's why I couldn't get this out to you sooner. Once again I am SO sorry! Okay, I'm done with my rant now. Go enjoy this crappy piece of shiz writing.**

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><p>The Strongest<p>

Celeste blinked as she, along with Finny, Mey-Rin, and Tanaka watched Bard fiddle around with wires in the ceiling.

"*Sigh* they got us." Bard stated. "Guess they really like wires. Damn rats."

"Rats again?" Mey-Rin asked with a frown on her face.

Celeste furrowed her eyebrows. "It'll be bad if they keep chewing through the wires like this…"

"There've been a lot this year…" Finny stated

Bard climbed down the ladder muttering "temporarily fixed," and looked at his fellow servants. "I've heard that there's been a plague of these freaks in London. They couldn't have come by foot all the way here." He explained.

His face then twisted into one of irritation. "They're constantly causing power outages. It's bad for business.

_What business?_ They wondered. All of a sudden they heard a low squeak and Finny go "AH!" and before she knew it, Celeste was finding herself jumping out of the way as Finny picked up the statue and tried to slam it on the rat.

"Ah! It got away~! Tee hee!" Finny said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Tanaka laughed his usual "Ho, ho, ho," whilst Mey-Rin sat on the floor looking shaken up.

"Don't give me your 'tee hee'! You almost killed me too dumbass!" Bard yelled at Finny.

Celeste blinked as she slowly got up from the floor and dusted herself off. "F-Finny…please be more careful, you almost killed me as well…"

Finny dropped the column he was holding and ran over and glomped Celeste.

"Uwah~ I'm sorry~!" he cried, squeezing her.

Celeste patted his back awkwardly as she struggled to take in air after Finny's hug knocked it right out of her.

"Fi-Finny…I-it's o-okay…" she choked out

As Finny began to slowly stop sobbing, his grip on the suffocating girl slackened and that allowed her to finally take in some much needed air. Finny sniffled one last time as he finally calmed down. Even though he had stopped crying, Finny still held Celeste in a tight embrace. After a moment, Celeste finally spoke.

"Umm…Finny…you can let go now…please?"

"Ah!" Finny exclaimed, pulling away quickly, his face beat red.

"I-I-I-I'm s-s-s-sorry!" he apologized, rubbing the back of his neck, averting his eyes away from the white-haired girl.

Celeste cocked her head to the side and blinked. She then closed her eyes and smiled, giggling.

"It's okay! It's okay!" she said with an airy laugh.

Finny looked at her from under his eyelashes and felt himself blush harder at her smile.

It was quiet for a second before Bard sighed and got up, dusting himself off on the way.

"Anyway, it's useless to challenge them head on! You gotta use this!" Bard said, poking his head with his thumb.

"This…?" the rest of the servants asked, touching their heads with their index fingers.

"Use your brains a little and read the enemy's movements." Bard explained. "Just charging in isn't a fair fight. We need a _diversion_!"

Out of nowhere, he pulled out a pot full of, what Celeste could only guess, some sort of food.

"So here's my plan. By mass-producing this, those bastards will have some digestion problems. Hunger on the battlefield is the worst."

Celeste sweat dropped at the dark energy that surrounded Bard. _'I hope he knows this isn't a battlefield,'_

"We'll use this! It's entitled: "Chef Bard's Home Cooking Straight Forward Tactic!"

Celeste just shook her head as the other servants went 'ahhh~' at Brad's plan.

"Well! This is the work of a professional!" Bard stated proudly.

"Are you sure that the rats will be attracted to—" Celeste began but was cut off.

Holding out a cat that he got out of nowhere, Finny smiled excitedly. "Then I will use the great 'eternal enemy, Tom and Julie' tactic!"

"Finny…I'm not sure that'll—"

"I-I won't lose! This is the great 'if you catch them a second time, don't let go' rat-killing tactic!" Mey-Rin exclaimed; determination on her face as she gestured towards the hundreds of rat traps that she had scattered throughout the hallway.

Celeste gawked. "Mey-Rin…don't you think your over-doing—"

Fist pumping, Bard, Finny, and Mey-Rin cheered yeah as they yelled: "Alright! Mission start!"

Tanaka did his usual laugh as he held a net and wore a gardener's hat on his head. Celeste glanced at him before her shoulders slumped as she let out a tired sigh.

"I hope everything will be okay…" she murmured.

And just as she said that, the three goofballs started screaming.

"You guys…please keep it down…the master's in a very important meeting right now…." Celeste said but she went ignored as they kept yelling.

Celeste watched them for a few more seconds before sighing tiredly. Walking a little ways away from them, she slumped to the ground and made sure to stay out of their way.

"Why do I even bother…?" Celeste murmured to herself as she slowly went to sleep.

When she finally woke up, she saw Sebastian standing in front of her, facing the other servants.

"Se…bas…tian…?" Celeste murmured sleepily, rubbing her eyes and covering her mouth as she yawned.

Said butler only sparred her a glance before returning to staring at the scene of the screaming trio.

"…..What are all of you doing?" Sebastian asked; his tone was on the verge of exasperation.

"'What' you say! We've decided to capture the rats!" Bard yelled.

"Aha…and that is…" Sebastian trailed off.

Celeste blinked in shock as she stared at her fellow work mates. Bard had on goggles, a scarf, and an apron on with a ladle in one hand and the pot of 'food' in the other. Mey-Rin had somehow gotten some of the mouse traps on herself and she was running around flailing her arms. Finny had, at one point, changed into a cat suite and now, all the cats that he had were hissing at him and scratching him. Tanaka was just leaping through the air with his net, trying to catch the rats.

"Sebastian!" both maid and butler turned to face their master.

"Young master." Sebastian acknowledged and Celeste bowed in respect.

Ciel acknowledged Celeste with a nod of his head before turning his attention back to Sebastian.

"Tonight, escort Duke Randall by carriage to his mansion. Will you take care of the carriage?" Ciel said, completely ignoring his yelling servants. "Leave tonight's plans open."

Sebastian grinned. "Understood. Then when I finish the preparations for the carriage, I will bring up some afternoon tea to your room. I have prepared apple and raisin dip pie for today's snack. I will bring it up to you when it's baked, so please wait just a bit."

"Ok." Ciel answered.

He glanced at Celeste and watched in amusement as her eyes glimmered at description of the snack.

"You can join me if you like."

Celeste blinked as she was brought back down to Earth and she whipped her head to face Ciel.

"…Huh?"

Ciel sighed. "I _said_ you can join me in eating the snack."

Celeste's eyes widened as she gripped her uniform.

"Really!" she asked, eyes glimmering with excitement.

Ciel glared at Sebastian when he noticed the demon smirking at him.

"Yes."

Celeste's eyes widened even more as she smiled hugely. "Yay! Oh thank you master!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement.

Ciel coughed to hide his embarrassment as a faint pink colored his cheeks. Turning on his heels, he quickly walked away.

Celeste looked between him and the servants before deciding to go with Ciel. She decided that if Sebastian was to get mad, she didn't want be around. She had been around when he had gotten angry at Bard and honestly, an angry Sebastian frightened her.

Trailing behind her master, they walked in comfortable silence; the only noise was the soft pitter patter of their feet against the floor. When they reached Ciel's study, Celeste spoke.

"Oh! That's right, I forgot to ask, what is it that you wanted for dinner tonight?"

Ciel reached for the door handle as he shrugged.

"Anything's fine."

Celeste stared at the ceiling with a contemplative look and then faced Ciel again with a smile. Nodding she hurried off down the hall.

"Then I'll just go inform Sebastian!" she said, disappearing around the corner.

Ciel watched her go and stared after her even when she was out of sight. Catching himself, Ciel shook his head and pushed open the door.

Celeste was halfway to the kitchen when she skidded to an abrupt stop. Snapping her fingers, she turned on her heels and raced back towards Ciel's study.

'_I can't believe I forgot to ask what type of tea he wanted!'_

When she reached his study, panting hard due to all her running, she hurriedly pushed open the door.

"Sorry master but I forgot to ask—" she cut herself off with a gasp as she saw a man trying to climb down Ciel's window with Ciel thrown over his shoulder.

The man looked at her in stunned silence and Celeste looked at the man in shock. Celeste opened her mouth to scream but the man was faster. When Celeste finally registered that she should scream, the man had already ran over to her and knocked her out with a punch to her gut.

The force of the blow was so hard that all of the air came out of her longs. Just before she blacked out, she heard the man say: "Well, I'm sure I can sell you for a whole lot of money."

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><p><strong>Sorry this is so short but I hoped you enjoyed! See you next chapter! Don't forget to Review!<strong>


	6. That Maid, Preview

**Nope this is not a chapter but a preview (though not of the next chapter:)sorry)! I figured I owed this to you guy for that long absence=.= Anyways, enjoy!**

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><p>Preview~<p>

Mey-Rin walked towards the manors front door cautiously. She had been on her way to do the laundry when she heard a knock. She wondered who would be wondering around at this time of night and in that weather as well. It was raining hard as well as thundering and lightning, not to mention that the wind was very strong and you could hear it howling even from indoors. Opening the doors cautiously, Mey-Rin stuck her head out and looked. When she saw the person standing outside, she gasped.

Standing in front of her had to be the most beautiful women she had ever seen. This woman had silvery-grey hair that reached her waist, golden-brown eyes, a heart-shaped face and she had full, red lips that were curved into a warm smile. She was wearing a brown button up coat that was fitted to her waist, showing off her curvy body and well-endowed chest, and then puffed out and reached to the middle of her calves and a matching brown hat atop her head. From what peeked out from under her coat, Mey-Rin saw she had on a sky blue dress with matching heels. The woman was carrying a briefcase which she gripped in front of her with both hands.

"Hello." The woman greeted.

"H-h-hello!" Mey-Rin stuttered out, blushing.

The woman only giggled a bit. "I'm sorry to bother you so late but I was wondering if you could let me stay here, at least until the morning. I just wish for some shelter from this rain."

Mey-Rin just stared at her blankly.

"Um…excuse me…?" the woman asked, tilting her head to the side.

"O-oh! Y-yes! P-please come in!" the woman smiled and stepped inside the mansion, her clothes dripping water onto the dry floor.

"Um…I-I just have to ask my master so please wait here a moment," Mey-Rin said, closing the door behind the woman and then ran up the steps to go inform her master of their guest.

The woman just smiled at Mey-Rin's flustered reaction and giggled to herself.

Mey-Rin tripped over herself countless times until she reached Ciel's office. She knocked on the door and entered when she heard him utter a 'come in'. Mey-Rin opened the door and bowed hastily.

"What is it, Mey-Rin?" Ciel asked, looking up from his stack of papers.

Mey-Rin blushed when she noticed Sebastian was there as well. "Um…th-there is a wo-woman asking to spend the night here,"

Ciel raised an eyebrow at this and sighed. Even if the woman was no doubt a commoner, it would still ruin his reputation if word got out that he turned this woman away. Ciel groaned as he rubbed his forehead.

"Well, what should we do young master?" Sebastian asked, enjoying seeing the sight of his agitated master.

Ciel glared at him and got up. "I suppose we have no choice. Sebastian, prepare a room for our guest and Mey-Rin, go inform her that she is—" he was cut off by the sound of a feminine scream.

Ciel's eye widened as he rushed out of the room, along with Mey-Rin and Sebastian. He knew that scream. That scream belonged to Celeste.

.

Celeste walked with a bounce in her step towards the kitchen, humming cheerfully, as she carried a stack of dishes. She passed by the front door of the manor and stopped once she heard a voice.

"Oh my! Look how much you've grown, Celeste!"

Celeste's eyes widened as she slowly turned towards the voice. She _knew_ that voice. She knew it. But no…it couldn't be…

She gasped and dropped the plates as she stared at the woman. She stared at the woman for a few more seconds before she let out an ear piercing scream.

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed this little preview! Review please and let me know what you think! Till next time when I'm back with an actual chapter;)!<strong>


	7. That Maid, A Halloween Special

**A Halloween special! I hope you enjoy! This is set in the future so don't get confused! Review once your finished reading!**

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><p>Halloween Special<p>

"Costume party?" Ciel questioned, glancing up from his work to look at his three bumbling servants.

The three nodded their heads excitedly.

"You know, for Halloween! We wanna have a costume party for Halloween!" Finny stated enthusiastically.

"No." Ciel deadpanned.

"But…why?" Finny asked, as he and the other servants deflated.

"It's an unnecessary waste of time."

"B-but…" the three servants started.

"No."

The servants sighed and left. Ciel sighed and got back to his work.

"Why did you say no, young master?"

Ciel let out an irritated sigh.

"As I said before, it's a complete unnecessary waste of time."

Sebastian sighed and left.

.

"I can't believe the young master rejected our idea like that." Bard muttered.

"And I really thought he would've said yes!" Finny whined.

The three servants sighed as Tanaka sipped his tea. The four were currently in the kitchen and the three depressed servants were sitting at the table, moping about.

"What's wrong?"

The moping servants looked towards the kitchen door. Celeste stood there, looking at them with a worried/confused look.

"Uwah~ Celes, it's horrible! The young master doesn't want to have a costume party~!" Finny whined.

Celeste furrowed her brows.

"Costume…party…?"

"We wanted to have a costume party in celebration of Halloween with the young master, yes we did!" Mey-Rin answered.

"But…why…?" Celeste asked.

"He said it was a complete unnecessary waste of time…" answered Finny.

"But a costume party sounds like a lot of fun…" Celeste trailed off as she shook her head. If it was her master's decision, there was no way he was going to change his mind.

"Hey…why don't you ask him?!" Bard said, staring at Celeste.

"M-me?! I d-don't think th-that—"

"Yeah…I bet that if you ask him, Celes, the young master is bound to say yes!" Finny exclaimed.

"Bu-but…"

"Yes, yes he will!" Mey-Rin nodded.

Celeste stared at the hopeful faces of her friends.

"Fine…" she relented as the servants began to cheer. "But if he says no, then no more asking, okay?" Celeste told them as they nodded their heads, cheering.

Celeste sighed and laughed. Turning on her heels, she made her way to Ciel's office.

.

Ciel looked up as a knock came on his office's door.

"Come in." he ordered, turning back to his papers.

His door opened with a soft creak, and timid footsteps made their way towards his desk. It was quiet for a few seconds until Ciel let out an irritated sigh and looked up, only to look right into a pair of grey eyes.

Startled, Ciel asked gruffly: "What do you want?"

Celeste flinched and looked down, twiddling her thumbs as she shifted her weight from foot to foot nervously.

"Um…about the co-costume party—"

"No."

"B-but—"

"No."

Celeste pouted.

"Why not?"

Ciel huffed in agitation.

"Because it's a complete waste of time."

"I'm sure if you at least _tried _the idea, you would like it!"

"I doubt it."

They stared at each other for a while.

"Will you at least _try_?"

"No."

"_Please?_" Celeste pleaded, her eyes unconsciously growing wider.

Ciel swallowed thickly.

It was that look. That look that made him-the Queens Guard Dog, contractor of a demon, owner of a world renowned company-fall to his knees and keel over backwards just to do what she wished.

That look of hers did weird things to him.

He was going to say no. The word was on the tip of his tongue. His mouth had formed the words. So he felt like banging his head against his desk when he finally registered the words that came out of his mouth.

"Sure."

Celeste squealed and launched herself across Ciel's desk, scattering a few papers.

"Thank you! Oh thank you master!" she exclaimed, hugging him.

"Ge-get off me!" Ciel yelled, blushing.

She let go of him and bowed before bounding out to go tell the others the good news.

Ciel watched her go. When the door closed behind her he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead, his blush starting to cool.

"Hmm…so what made you change your mind about the costume party, young master?"

Ciel quickly looked towards the demon and scowled. The demon had his usual stoic look but the mirth dancing in his eyes, he knew that the demon knew why he had changed his mind. Or rather, _who_ changed it.

"Shut up." Ciel grumbled.

Sebastian smirked.

To think that Ciel Phantomhive-his contractor, the Queens Guard Dog, the boy who seeks revenge and will use whoever and whatever he wanted-was so easily tamed. Truly, he was just like a wild dog so easily trained to be so domesticated.

"Really young master…to be so easily tamed to obey the every command of a mere servant girl…are you really the Queens feared guard dog? Or just the little obedient companion of a little girl…?"

Ciel's blush returned with a vengeance.

"Ge-get out! Don't you ha-have work to do?!"

Sebastian smirked and left, leaving Ciel to himself.

.

"So…what should we dress up as?" Bard wondered out loud, leaning back against the stairs.

The others shrugged and sighed.

They were sitting on the stairs in the main staircase. They were trying to find out what costumes they should wear.

"What are you four doing?"

The servants jumped up from the stairs and whirled around to face Ciel and Sebastian.

"We're trying to figure out what costumes we should wear for the costume party!" Finny said.

Ciel sighed and grumbled.

"Why not just pick something already?"

Celeste blinked and then smiled.

"Ah, why don't we pick each other's costume?!"

Everyone stared at her.

"Well…that is…um…ne-never mind…" she bowed her head.

"I think that's a good idea."

Everyone stared at Sebastian in surprise.

"If you can't think of something for yourself, then let someone else decide." He explained.

"Then…I get to pick Celeste's costume!" Finny yelled.

"Um…" Celeste started

Ciel gripped the handle of his cane tightly.

"_No._"

Everyone turned to face Ciel who was glaring darkly at Finny.

It was silent until Celeste broke it.

"Um…why don't we…um, we…write our names on a piece of paper and…stick them in a hat and we pick a costume for whoever's name we get…?"

"That's a good idea, why don't we do that now?"

Sebastian turned on his heel and walked towards Ciel's study, everyone shuffling after him.

.

"'Ey Sebastian, I got you!"

"Hm…it would seem as if I have you Bard."

"Yeah! I have you Celes!"

"Um…I…I have you master…"

"Ah, I have you Mr. Tanaka, yes!"

"Ho, ho, ho,"

"It would seem as if I have you, Finian."

**(In case you didn't get it, Bard got Sebastian and vice versa, Mey-Rin got Tanaka and vice versa, Finny got Celeste, Celeste got Ciel, and Ciel got Finny)**

"So, now that everyone has their person, then at the end of the day, decide what costume that person will wear." Sebastian said.

"I already know what I want you to be Celes!" Finny stated happily as he jumped up and down.

"I want you to dress up as an angel!"

"A…angel…?"

"Mhm!"

Ciel hated to admit it but it would suit her.

Everyone nodded at Finny's choice, also agreeing that it fit her.

"Okay then…"

"Alright everyone! Get back to work! We have a lot of work to do! As well as prepare for tomorrow!" Sebastian ordered and the servants rushed out.

Sebastian bowed to Ciel and left.

.

"So, has everyone come up with an idea?" Ciel asked as he sat in his office, along with the servants.

Everyone nodded their heads.

"Everyone already knows what Celes's costume is!" Finny cheered as said girl smiled.

Ciel frowned at the smiling duo.

"I decided for Mr. Tanaka to go as a vampire, yes!"

Everyone stared at Mey-Rin who smiled shyly.

"Ho, ho, ho," Tanaka held up a picture of a cat.

Everyone raised an eyebrow.

"I say Sebastian should go as a bunny!"

Sebastian's eye twitched as the others began to giggle.

"Then Bard, you should go as a princess."

Bard's mouth dropped open as the others began to giggle more.

"Ahem. Then I guess it's my turn. Finny, you shall go as a string bean."

It was quiet as Ciel smirked at Finny's shocked face.

"Aw~! Why~?" Finny whined as the others began to laugh, save for Ciel, Sebastian, and Tanaka.

Once everyone stopped laughing and Finny stopped whining, they all turned to Celeste expectantly. Ciel shifted in his seat a bit as he stared at his white haired maid.

"Um… I decided for the master to be the Phantom of the Opera!"

Everyone stared at her.

"You know…because of his name I thought…" she looked towards Ciel who stared at her blankly.

"No…good…?"

She still didn't get a response.

"Well, at first I thought you should be a pirate because of your eye patch…b-but then I decided not to…then I th-thought of your last name and I remembered the Phantom of the Opera so—"

"…Good…"

Celeste stopped babbling and looked up at Ciel.

"…Huh…?"

"The costume that you choose…it is good…" he mumbled.

"Really?!" Celeste asked, a slow smile forming on her lips.

Ciel coughed.

"Yeah…"

Celeste cheered as Sebastian smirked at his master who Ciel made a point of looking away from.

"Then let's start preparing for the party!" Bard yelled as he and the others trekked out of Ciel's office, leaving him and Sebastian.

"Well…I guess we should start preparing. Should I send out an invitation to Lady Elizabeth? I'm sure she would like to attend." Sebastian smiled deviously at his master.

Ciel huffed. "Do whatever you want."

"As you wish, young master." Sebastian bowed and left.

.

Ciel sighed as he waited for Elizabeth to show. He was dressed in his Phantom of the Opera outfit. He ran a hand over his mask. It had a hole for his eye but Sebastian fixed it so the whole for the eye was filled so that way, his eye with the contract mark on it couldn't be seen. **(Link to see his costume, as well as Celeste's, is on my page)**

His eyes strayed over to Celeste who was laughing at something Finny said.

Finny looked absolutely ridiculous in his string bean costume. Celeste, on the other hand, fit her costume perfectly. She really did look like an angel.

"CIIIIEEEEEELLLLLL~!"

Ciel was crushed in Elizabeth's bone crushing hug.

"E-Elizabeth!" Ciel gasped out.

"It's Lizzy~!"

"Lizzy…" Ciel consented once she let go of him.

"Oh Ciel~ you look so cute! Just what I would expect from Sebastian!" Elizabeth complimented.

"Actually, Celeste picked this costume for me." Ciel corrected her.

Elizabeth's face darkened a bit.

"Oh." She answered curtly before smiling again.

"Anyways, I really love the decorations! It's very spooky!"

The mansion was covered with fake cobwebs, bats, and skeletons. There were a lot of lanterns outside that gave off a spooky feeling and there were multiple jack-o-lanterns, and somehow, Sebastian had got fake fog to float around the mansion, and creepy music filled the ballroom.

"Oh, it just gives me the chills!" Elizabeth continued.

Ciel drowned her out though because he was peeking at over her shoulder at Celeste who was dancing with Finny. He was having a hard time dancing because of his costume but Celeste just helped him and continued to dance with him. When they finally stopped dancing, because Finny had landed flat on his face, the boy pulled her into a hug and started twirling around with her and Celeste laughed gaily at being twirled around.

Ciel narrowed his eye at this, irritation was setting in quickly.

"Ciel…?" Elizabeth asked cautiously, finally noticing the sour mood her fiancée was in.

Ciel snapped his eye to look at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Let's dance!" before he could protest, she started to dance with him.

They danced for a bit with Elizabeth's constant chatter filling the silence between them.

After a while they sopped dancing and Ciel left to go nibble on a cookie while Elizabeth pranced off to go talk to her babysitter/personal maid.

"Master Phantomhive…?"

Ciel quickly looked up from his snack and faced Celeste.

"You look nice," she murmured a blush on her face.

Ciel began to blush as well.

"Thanks. You too…" he mumbled.

They stood in silence for a minute until Ciel cleared his throat and mumbled something underneath his breath.

"Huh…? Sorry, what was that? I didn't quite hear that."

Ciel repeated himself, only this time, louder.

"Do…do you want to dance…?" he looked away from her, a blush on his face.

Celeste blushed fiercely.

"S-sure!"

Ciel took her hand and began to dance with her. They danced in comfortable silence.

"So…are you having fun?" Celeste asked hopefully.

"I still think it was a waste of time." Celeste frowned. "But not completely unnecessary." She beamed at him.

They stopped dancing soon after that.

Celeste mock curtsied.

"Thank you for the lovely dance Master Phantomhive," she giggled out.

Ciel followed suit, mock bowing.

"The pleasure was all mine," he smirked.

Celeste turned but then stopped abruptly and looked around in confusion. Ciel followed suit and also looked around, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Where…is everyone…?" Celeste whispered, turning back to face Ciel who looked equally as confused.

Just then, the lights were shut off and Celeste screamed and latched onto Ciel tightly, causing the poor boy to stumble back a bit.

She shivered in his arms and he awkwardly patted her back. As if realizing whom she had grabbed, she quickly let go and stumbled back a few steps.

"S-sorry master!"

Ciel just stood their awkwardly, not really knowing what do. By Celeste's labored breathing, he could tell that she was still scared. Awkwardly, he stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her. Celeste stiffened, but then sniffled and wrapped her arms tightly around him.

"Come on…let's go find the others." Ciel whispered, and lead the shaking girl out of the mansion (he was briefly thankful that Sebastian made him memorize the mansion like the back of his hand) and made their way towards the garden.

"Th-thank you, Master Phantomhive…" Celeste murmured.

She quickly let go of him and faced away, a blush rapidly darkening her face. Ciel glared at her, not liking the fact that when Finny touched her, she didn't shy away, but when he touched, she shied away. The only time she ever really touched him was when she was happy and would hug him, or if she making sure he was alright.

His irritation subsided when he noticed that she was still shaking. As if on impulse, he reached for her hand and grabbed it, but turned away so she wouldn't see the blush on his face.

Celeste's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Ciel's hand that was grasping hers. She looked up at him and blushed, and then her blush darkened when she saw him blushing.

"Ahem…we should get going…." Ciel coughed and pulled Celeste into the garden.

Blushing, Celeste followed him and allowed herself to be dragged along.

Once they were in the garden, they saw everyone watching Sebastian, they were so concentrated on him that they didn't even notice the two preteens who stood there silently, watching them.

"Now, everyone, please watch tonight's main event!" and just as he said that, fireworks started going off in shapes of jack-o-lanterns, bats, skeletons, and other Halloween related things.

"Wow…" Celeste whispered as she stared up at the fireworks, unconsciously intertwining her and Ciel's hand.

He stared at their now, fully intertwined hands. He stared at Celeste but she was too busy watching the fireworks, the light that the fireworks gave off cast shadows to dance around her and make it look like she was glowing.

_Yes. _He decided. The angel costume suited her perfectly.

'_So…are you having fun?' _her words rung through his ears.

He gave a barely noticeable, unconscious smile, turning towards the fireworks, gripping her hand a little tighter.

'_Yes…he was definitely having fun. The most fun he'd had on Halloween. Ever.'_

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah sooooo…..what'd ya think? Waaaay too much fluffiness? Should I not have wasted my time doing this? Let me know! Oh yeah, before I forget: POLL RESULTS!: The winning choice for my poll 'should I have more CelestexFinny moments' was MORE! So I'll definitely do some more since that's what's in popular demand. But, as the story progresses there will be less! Just a heads up on that one kay? Reviews are greatly appreciated, even if they are just flames, its gets me to write faster and better which means quicker updates and less crappy chapters! Bye for now!<strong>


	8. That Maid, Protect

_**NOTICE~ NOTICE~ NOTICE~ NOTICE~: **_**I took a 'Which Kuroshitsuji Character Are You?' test and I got that I was like the Undertaker XD. Kind of creepy though…my friends say I'm more like a combination of Ciel, Sebastian, and the Undertaker. Then I took a whole bunch of different tests and I either got Ciel, Sebastian, or, once in a blue moon, the Undertaker. But I mostly got Ciel and Sebastian. I also got that I'm most compatible with Ciel or Sebastian O.O Weird right?**

* * *

><p>Protect<p>

When Celeste came too, she found her hands and feet bound together by a thick piece of rope that was digging uncomfortably into her skin.

"How many street names have they been burdened with, and how many families have been crushed?"

'_Huh?'_ Celeste blinked her eyes open and saw an Italian man standing just a few feet away from her.

"Who would've thought that the president of the world's best toy factory is just a boy? Right? Ciel Phantomhive."

Celeste whipped her head to the side, and in the process; turned the upper part of her body due to force, but instantly regretted it when she felt a sharp pang of pain emitting from her stomach area. Though the pain was quickly forgotten when she saw Ciel.

"Master!" she gasped.

Ciel was beaten and bruised with a bleeding nose and multiple bruises on his face. She flinched when she saw the glare he was directing at the man.

Ciel and the man ignored her as the Italian man continued to speak.

"Looks can be deceiving. Well, it's oddly understandable that the king of a toy palace is a child."

"It really was you…Ferro family, Azzurro Vener," Ciel bit out

"Ah! You were one of the guests that came to the manor today!" Celeste exclaimed

Both Vener and Ciel whipped their heads around to face her.

"Aaaah…so the little maid finally decides to wake up," Vener sneered.

Ciel's eye widened. "You! What are _you _doing here?!"

Celeste just glanced at the two males.

"Isn't it obvious?" Vener asked as he walked towards Celeste

Ciel glared at Vener as he came to a stop right in front of the fidgeting maid.

"Apparently, she rushed into your office when my men were trying to get out." Vener crouched down and grabbed her face with his hand, forcing her to look at him. "Normally, you would've been killed, but, with this face of yours, I'd fetch quite a pretty price for it."

Celeste tried to tug her face out of his grip but then he just gripped her harder. Vener brought her face closer to his, a lecherous grin on his face.

"Though…I might just keep you for myself. It's hard to find such natural beauty now a day's…" Vener stated, turning her head from side to side, appraising her.

Celeste's eyes widened in horror and she whimpered in fear.

"_Get your filthy hands __**off **__her._"

Celeste's eyes snapped towards Ciel. Ciel was literally shaking with rage as he glared at Vener. If looks could kill, Vener would have been dead a thousand times over.

'_How __**dare **__he touch what is mine!' _Ciel thought unconsciously, his glare growing with intensity.

Vener quickly let go of Celeste and backed away a few steps, eyes widened in shock/fear, before he caught himself and stopped. He then started laughing.

"Aww, how cute! Trying to be the hero and protect the little maid, huh?" Vener sneered, laughing mockingly at them.

"Aaaah that was a good laugh. But I think it's time we got back down to business, don't you?"

Vener smirked at Ciel who only glared in return.

"You know little Phantomhive, the Italian mafia finds this country bothersome. It's really a pain. All of the English and their goddamn tea stained heads!" Ciel glowered at the man.

"Think about it. What's the most beneficial market for people like us? It's not cleaning up, or carrying things, nor women, nor spare parts. It's drugs ya' know?" Vener leaned back against his table.

Celeste's eyes widened in shock. How could he sell something like that?

"Even so, when we came to this country, thanks to the successful glares of the watchdogs, we haven't been able to catch a single relaxing scent."

"It was an order from the queen not to let the dealers do as they please with their drugs." Ciel stated simply

"Ah, come on, don't be so stubborn. This is why I hate the English. The queen! The queen! That's all they ever talk about." Vener laughed.

"That's because the queen is a great women and she is the reason that England is regarded so highly as it is today! She's done many great things for this country!" Celeste said defensively.

Vener stared at her for a minute before he started laughing; the men in the room also began to chuckle.

"Ah…you are one funny girl, but it would do you well to keep your mouth shut. Just because you're cute doesn't mean that I won't hurt you." Vener warned

"And it would do _you _well not to threaten her." Came Ciel's icy voice

"Oh? And whatever do you mean by that, little Phantomhive?"

Ciel glared in reply which caused Vener to laugh.

"It's not good to threaten people with empty words _Phantomhive_" Vener spat out. "But, shall we get back to the topic at hand?"

Ciel didn't reply, he just continued to glare.

"I just want us to cooperate a bit. Besides, in the end aren't we two sides of the same coin?"

"Sorry, but I have no intentions of conspiring with a filthy rat." Ciel stated, though he didn't sound apologetic at all.

"You may say that, but what about the others? Right now it might be only the watchdogs who are scared and obedient. I guess Ciel Phantomhive is someone who cleans out corruption." Vener paused, took a drag of his cigar, and continued. "Even though I specifically made it so that it wouldn't sell in Italy, I didn't expect to be tracked this early on."

Vener laughed. "Who would have guessed that guy Clause would go to such lengths to obtain it. It's because of that I only get half my share. And I had to beat up a kid again! Plus kidnap another one…well…at least we were lucky with the second one, right guys?" Vener and his guards laughed.

Celeste shivered at the man's words and Ciel visibly tensed.

"Now then…do you understand this business yet?" Vener asked, facing Ciel again with his cigarette back in his mouth. "If you're lying about where the goods are kept, you'd better run home while your neck's still attached…little runt."

Ciel smirked. "If I don't return, evidence will soon make its way to the government from Clause. It's a shame, huh?"

Vener sighed and then quickly whipped out his gun from inside his jacket and pointed it at Ciel's head, glaring.

"Don't mess with adults…_little master_!" the gun made a 'ca-click' sound as Vener readied it.

"No!" Celeste yelled as she hurtled herself into Ciel, effectively knocking him to the ground, the upper half of her body was laying on him while the rest of her was sprawled on the floor.

Both pre-teens were gasping for breath. Ciel was gasping for breath because Celeste had knocked it out of him and Celeste was gasping for breath because the pain from the wound on her stomach was sending new spasms of pain throughout her body.

"You idiot! What are you doing?!" Ciel yelled after he got his breath back.

"Protect…" the girl wheezed out.

"…What…?"

"I…have to…protect you from…bullet…"

Ciel's eyes widened. "You idiot! No one told you too—! Ge-get off me!"

Celeste shook her head in protest, her breathing haggard as numbing pain coursed through her body.

Ciel tried to get up but Celeste was throwing all her wait on top of him, trying to keep him from coming up.

Vener laughed as he watched the two of them.

"Looks like the roles have been reversed little Phantomhive! The hero has become the maiden in distress and the little maid has become the hero,"

Ciel had managed to get up into a sitting position, so that now, Celeste was strewn across his lap.

Vener glared at the boy.

"We're already keeping your servants waiting. Where are the goods? If you don't spill quickly, I'll kill your servants one by one."

Ciel glanced at him, lowered his head, and then raised it again, a grin on his face.

"It would be nice if cute little puppies were able to 'fetch'." He said.

Vener got up and made his way over to the pair, a sigh escaping from his mouth. Celeste struggled to sit up, unaware of the man approaching.

Celeste cried out as she was kicked hard in the stomach by Vener, causing her and Ciel to go falling back, onto the floor.

"Stupid girl got in the way." Vener muttered, picking up his phone and shouting into it "Didn't you hear me? Negotiations are over. Kill him!"

He then hung up the phone and sat in his chair, a sadistic smile on his face as he watched the two kids before him.

Ciel just stared stupidly at Celeste. She was coughing up blood as she tried to get her breath back.

"C…Ciel…are….are you…o…okay?" she coughed out, trying to turn around to face him.

"I…" he couldn't finish as Celeste managed to flip herself over and he took in her battered form.

She surveyed him and smiled as she saw that he wasn't hurt any worse than he had been already.

"Am I…hurting…you?" she asked, as she took in his shocked expression, mistaking it for one of pain.

"You…" Ciel began. "You IDIOT!" he yelled.

Celeste blinked.

"Eh…?"

"Don't 'eh' me! Who told you to get yourself all beaten up?!"

"Bu-but I—"

"Don't but me!"

"I-I'm sorry…"

Ciel sighed.

"No…don't apologize…"

"B-but I—"

Ciel glared at her, she became quiet.

"Aw~, how cute~. You two are having a lover's spat," Vener cooed mockingly.

Ciel glared at him and Celeste flinched, and Vener laughed.

Then, the phone rang.

Vener picked it and after a few seconds, starting screaming into it.

"You failed! You useless bastards! This is why you're worth less than shit! I'm through with you! Return at once!" Vener yelled into the phone.

All of a sudden, they all heard screaming coming from the other end of line. Everyone's eyes widened in fear/horror (except for Ciel who held a knowing smirk on his face) as they continued to listen to the terrified screams of the men.

Vener started panicking and began screaming back at his men. With one last horrified scream from the other line, the line went dead and Vener started screaming into it.

That's when Ciel started to chuckle sadistically, causing Vener to turn around and eye him wearily, Celeste also eyeing him wearily.

"It would appear that 'go fetch' has failed."

Vener got a crazed look in his eyes and lifted his foot in an attempt to kick Ciel in the face but only wound up kicking Celeste in the face, causing her to topple backwards on top of Ciel and to spit out blood. Ciel stared in horror at the unconscious and bloody bruised up girl. Her haggard, labored breathing was his only assurance that she was alive and _no_ this wasn't a nightmare, but reality.

Growling, Vener picked up his phone and yelled into it.

"Hey! If you don't answer, I'll kill you, you mongrels! Hey!"

"_Hello?_"

Vener stiffened when he heard the reply

"_Hello? I am a member of the Phantomhive household._" Vener dropped his cigar, letting roll away from him.

"_I hope our master hasn't been troubling you. I would inquire about our maid, but I'm sure she has not been giving you any problems._" Vener grit his teeth as his hand began to shake, causing the phone to rattle.

"_Hello? Is something the matter?_"

Ciel, having heard the conversation, looked up from Celeste's battered form and with a glare, answered with a simple but clear "Woof."

"_Understood. Right away. So please wait a bit longer, I'll come for you soon._" The line went dead.

Vener just stared at the phone for a few minutes in horrified silence, Ciel just watching him indifferently. After a few minutes, Vener snapped out of his stupor and began to panic. He began to spew out orders to his men, telling them to arm themselves and to guard everywhere, taking care not to let a single rat in.

As everyone rushed out to do as they were told, but Ciel just smirked, knowing their efforts were futile. After another couple of minutes, screaming and rounds of gunfire could be heard, but after thirteen minutes, it went quiet and all that was heard was the 'tick-tock' of the clock inside Vener's office.

Vener readied his gun, which was shaking in his hand, as the sound of approaching footsteps rang clearly and ominously, the shaking got worse as the footsteps drew nearer. Finally, the double doors to the office creaked open ominously.

"Please pardon the intrusion…" in stepped Sebastian, his unnerving smile on his face. "I've come to retrieve my master and the maid." Sebastian bowed deeply while Vener just stood looking at him, gun aimed and a stupefied expression on his face.

'_A butler?!' _Vener thought.

"Ha…ha…I'm surprised…you managed to kill all those people by yourself. You got us." Vener stated. Sebastian just straightened up, his smile never leaving his face.

"Who are you really? Are you a hit man hired by the Phantomhive's? Are you an ex-swat mercenary? You can't really be a butler." as he asked this, Vener backed up towards the two preteens.

"Yes, I am a butler to the core. And _only_ that." Sebastian answered easily.

"Ha…I see…in any case, I have no intention of fighting you, Mr. Butler. I yield." Vener claimed, holding the gun out towards Sebastian. "But you know…" Vener grabbed Ciel by his hair and yanked him up, causing Celeste to roll off of him and onto the floor. Kneeling down, Vener put the gun to Ciel's head. "I'll be taking those goods you managed to get."

Sebastian just looked at him tiredly and Ciel glared at him, his eyes darting between Vener and Celeste.

"You wouldn't want your cute master to have breathing holes in his head, would you?" Vener pressed the gun harder against Ciel's head. "If you're really a butler, then you know what you should do."

"The thing you gentlemen are looking for is right—" Sebastian started, pulling out something from his pocket.

Before he could finish, a bullet went through his head, followed by five more. Spitting up blood, Sebastian fell to the floor, dead.

"Did…we get him?" Vener asked slowly, before smirking. "Ha…ha, ha. Sorry Romeo, but I'm the winner of this game!"

Vener placed his gun under Ciel's chin, grabbing more of his hair.

"And right when he'd finally come for you…too bad, huh? Little Phantomhive. If you're up against the Phantomhive's, the Queen's Watchdog, then even I'll keep an ace up my sleeve." Vener sneered.

Vener then went on to explain how irritated he was that Ciel had kept getting in his way, and what he would do to him. He even took off Ciel's eye patch as he explained to him about the perverts.

Ciel generally paid him no mind, until he heard the one sentence statement that set his blood ablaze.

"But before we sell you to those perverts, I'll let you have a good front row seat as we _take _your precious little maid, right in front of you." Vener stated, a lecherous grin on his face, glancing at the unconscious girl.

Ciel also glanced at her, taking in her battered form again only succeeded in making his temper worse.

"Don't worry, I'll take _good_ care of—"

"Hey." With a voice as cold as ice, he cut Vener off. "How long are you going to play around for?"

Vener stared at the boy in confusion and shock.

"I wouldn't have thought that that was such a nice place to sleep." Ciel glanced over towards the still man. "Just how long are you going to play dead like a raccoon?"

Sebastian's hand twitched.

"Th-that's not possible!" Vener screamed, noticing the twitch.

"My, my…" Sebastian murmured, rising up slowly with his head thrown back. "The efficiency of guns has been going up recently. It's a big difference compared to one hundred years ago." Sebastian brought his hand up to his face and coughed.

"I'm returning these." He stated, holding out his gloved, blood stained hand, with six bullets in it and a creepy smile adorning his face.

"What are you doing?! Kill him!" Vener screamed.

His men readied their guns but didn't get a chance to shoot because Sebastian had thrown the bullets back at them, effectively killing them.

"Ah…what a mess." Sebastian sighed, grabbing and holding out the ends of his tailcoat. "My clothes have become ruined."

"It's cause you were playing around, you idiot." Ciel stated, glaring at his butler.

"I was only being faithful to your command, young master. 'Just act like that' you said." Sebastian smirked. "Besides…your appearance was not as bad as I expected. Is it perhaps because Celeste took all the blows meant for you?" Sebastian inquired, glancing over at the bruised girl.

As he spoke, he began to slowly make his way over towards Ciel, Vener, and Celeste.

Ciel only glared in reply.

"I must admit that I did want to see your appearance as is just a bit longer." Sebastian stated, smiling.

As Sebastian spoke, Vener kept shouting for him to stop, until he finally said it loud enough for Sebastian to pay attention to him.

"I-I-I said stop, dammit! If you come any closer, I'll blow his head off!" Vener yelled, pressing the gun to the side of Ciel's head.

"Hmm…whatever shall I do?" Sebastian asked idly.

"Hurry up already, his breath stinks." Ciel complained

"Shut up! Shut up!" Vener screamed.

"But young master…if I come closer, you'll be killed." Sebastian stated

"You bastard." Ciel said, glaring at Sebastian. "Do you intend to go against the contract?"

"Shut up!" Vener screamed again, but went ignored.

"That would be unthinkable. I have been your faithful servant ever since that day. I would undertake anything as long as you wished it." Sebastian answered, placing a hand over where his heart would reside. "The sacrifice that was offered…and the happiness you left behind…"

"What the hell are you going on about? You freak!" Vener hollered.

"Now…young master…shall we teach him the proper way to beg?" Sebastian asked, holding up a finger to the side of his cheek, cocking his head to the side.

"It's an order! Save me!" Ciel yelled, opening his closed eye, the Faustian sign glowing.

"Shut up!" Vener yelled again, a crazed look on his face as he pulled the trigger of the gun.

The gun shot rung throughout the room.

"W-why…ain't he dead…" Vener asked, looking at Ciel, who was very much alive, in horrified shock.

"Is this what you're looking for?" Sebastian asked, bending down right behind a horrified Vener, holding onto the bullet. "I'm…returning it.." he let the bullet drop into Vener's breast pocket.

"Please release the master to me. First, would you remove your filthy hands from him?" Sebastian asked, twirling his finger in a circular motion

"Gaaaaah!" Vener screamed as his arm that was holding onto Ciel was twisted violently. Tears leaked from his eyes as he continued to scream.

"I'm afraid today's game was quite uninteresting." Ciel stated, glancing at the screaming man as he was picked up by Sebastian and carried over to a plush chair.

"W-wait, dammit! You're just a butler, right?! I can't be finished in a place like this!" Vener cried out desperately as Sebastian inspected his master.

"As a bodyguard, I can give you five times, no, ten times what you're getting now! And liquor and women and whatever you want! So team up with me!" Sebastian ripped off the leather and tossed it to the side.

"It's a shame, Sir Vener, but…I have no interest in currency made by human hands. For I am…" Sebastian stood up and faced Vener, his eyes glowing a pinkish, purple, his pupil just mere slits. "A demon…and a butler."

Terrified shock was the only expression on Vener's face as Sebastian approached him.

"As long as the young master has the sign of the contract…I am his faithful servant." Sebastian pulled off his left glove and held it up to cover the right side of his face. "Sacrifice…desire…and thus, I am bound to my master through the contract…"

Shrouds of darkness began to cover the room, emitting from Sebastian.

"It's a shame, but…" Ciel started "…this is 'game over'."

All that Vener could do was let out terrified screams and beg for mercy.

_-Inside Celeste's consciousness-_

'_What…what is…going…on?' __**she wondered idly as she vaguely heard screaming.**_

'_What…is this…energy…?' __**she wondered as she felt the demonic aura.**_

'_It…it…burns!' __**she began to whither and cry out as she felt the demonic aura wash over her.**_

_**All she felt was a burning sensation course through her body. The pain hurt ten times more than when Vener had repeatedly kicked her.**_

'_S-somebody…somebody please help me! Make it stop! Make it go away! It burns! It burns! Somebody…HELP ME!'_

_**And just like that, the burning sensation stopped and she felt something soothing wash over her.**_

_-Back to reality-_

"Are you finished toying with him yet?" Ciel asked, bored, from his seat.

The area around Vener was shrouded in darkness, so he couldn't see anything, and the only thing Ciel could hear was the man's terrified screaming.

"**Yes…my lord…**" came Sebastian's reply from inside the darkness.

The darkness began to fade as Sebastian came out of it. Ciel watched as Vener landed on the ground, eyes rolled all the way back in his head and his mouth hanging wide open, saliva and white foam coming out of it.

"Then let's go." Ciel stated.

"Of course." Sebastian replied, bowing and heading over to Celeste.

Once he reached her, he reached out his hand to pull off the ropes but stopped and recoiled away from her, hissing, as if he'd just been burned. He clutched his hand, which he had used to reach out to the girl, to his chest. His demonic eyes grew brighter and more menacing as he eyed the girl.

Ciel raised an eyebrow, having seen the strange way Sebastian had acted.

"Sebastian? Sebastian?...SEBASTIAN!" said butler finally whipped his head around to face his master, his eyes returning to normal, as he let go of his hand.

"What's wrong?" Ciel questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"Nothing young master." Sebastian replied, before facing Celeste again.

He reached out his hand again, but this time slower. He narrowed his eyes as he began to untie the girl.

'_When I reached out before…that energy…it felt like…no. That can't be. It's impossible.'_ Sebastian thought, as he finished untying her and carried her over to his master, dismissing the thought but still unable to shake the feeling of unease that clung to him.

Ciel just stared at his butler, eyebrow raised.

"Young master, would you mind climbing on my back and holding on tight? I would have Celeste on my back but as you know, she is…_indisposed_ at the moment."

Ciel just sighed as Sebastian turned around and knelt down, letting his master climb onto his back, before straightening up and disappearing in a flash.

_-Elsewhere-_

Golden brown eyes flipped open wide, a gasp coming from the person's lips.

_**So you felt it as well… **_a disembodied man's voice rang through the persons head.

"Yes…it is time…"

_**As you know the circumstances…I cannot show you where she is…**_

"That is fine. I've already narrowed down her location."

_**That is good…but, since we have already felt her, it must mean that he has felt her as well…**_

"Yes…I am well aware of that."

_**We cannot let her get away again, for a third time…for if he located her the last time, he can locate her again this time…**_

"Do not worry my lord. I shall find her and bring her back. It was my fault for having left her unguarded last time. But this time, I shall stay by her side no matter what. Not even if you were to call upon me,"

The voice chuckled.

_**Ah…yes…I take the full blame for that one…but this time we cannot afford failure, is that understood Esmeralda? The fate of the universe rests on your completion of this mission…**_

"I am very well aware of that sir, but, it is not the fate of the universe that drives me, but the safety of that child." Esmeralda declared.

_**Ah…yes…I know of the motherly affections you hold for the child…that is good…but don't let it cloud the judgment of your mission…**_

"I know already my lord, but do not worry. It won't happen."

_**Yes…I am sure…I chose you as her guardian because I knew you two would do well together…but enough talk…be on your way know…there is no time to waste…I have full trust in your ability to complete your mission and to keep the girl safe…**_

"Yes, of course. I'll be on my way then." Esmeralda got up from her bed and quickly left her room, only gathering the things she deemed would be necessary.

'_There is no time to waste! I must go, she needs me!'_

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><p><strong>And…..that's it! What happened to Celeste? Who is Esmeralda? Who was the disembodied voice? Only I know!<strong>

_**Review replies:**_

**Rea-chan: Yep, my thoughts exactly ;) and here is the next chapter!**

**anna the Viking XD: I'm glad you found it adorable:D I personally thought I added too much fluff but I'm glad you enjoyed it! Here's the next update.**

**Jade Author: Yep, he sure did. Poor Finny.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! REVIEW, please!**


	9. That Maid, Avoidance

**Hey! Here's the next chapter! Unfortunately, I'm moving soon so I'm not sure how my updating will go:( so please bear with me, this is why I'm trying to upload as fast as I can. So sorry for this and all the other short chapters. Well, go enjoy the story!**

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><p>Avoidance<p>

Celeste sighed and pouted. Ever since the kidnapping incident, Ciel had been avoiding her. At first, she had paid it no mind, but then, it progressed so much that now, she didn't even see him anymore.

Celeste sighed again, drying the last of the dishes.

She had hoped that they had actually grown closer, considering what had happened between them.

_-Flashback-_

'_Huh…? Where….where am I...?'_

Scratching noises, like a pen on paper, filled her ears.

'_What…is…that noise…?'_

Celeste blinked her eyes open and turned her head to the side. Her eyes widened in surprise at who she saw.

Ciel sat in a chair, hunched over her night stand, scribbling away on a piece of paper.

"Master…?" Ciel stiffened and he slowly turned his head to face her.

She blinked owlishly.

"What are you doing here?"

Ciel blinked, than shot up from his seat, a light blush staining his cheeks.

"I see…you're up now…" he said, after clearing his throat.

Celeste blinked, and then gasped, shooting up from her bed. She flinched when she felt the searing pain course through her, her injuries still not fully healed.

"I-idiot! Don't just move around suddenly!" Ciel chastised his eye wide with shock.

"How…how long was I asleep?" she asked, ignoring his statement.

"Two days."

Celeste gasped, quickly throwing the sheets off of her body and scrambling out of the bed.

"I-I'm so sorry! I'll get back to work right away!" she apologized, bowing.

Ciel blushed a bit more and averted his gaze. Celeste was still in her night dress.

"It's fine…you got injured for my sake…so it's fine…"

"B-but I was slacking off on my duties a-and I—"

"I said it's fine! Besides, you're still injured."

Celeste remained quiet, knowing he was right.

Sighing, Ciel walked over to the sulking girl.

"Go back to bed." He ordered.

Celeste looked up at him.

"Bu-but—!"

She was cut off when Ciel gripped her shoulders and forcibly pushed her down onto her bed.

"Go back to bed. It's an order."

Celeste stared wide-eyed at him, nodding mutely, and slipped back under the covers.

Ciel let out another sigh and walked away, going back to the papers on Celeste's nightstand.

Celeste watched him for a moment, before letting out a small smile.

"Thank you for worrying about me…master…"

Ciel stiffened and whipped his head around to face her, his cheeks a vibrant red.

"I-I wasn't worried about you!"

Celeste giggled softly, turning her head away. She closed her eyes and fell back to sleep, a blissful smile on her lips.

_-Flashback end-_

'_Maybe it was just my imagination and wishful thinking…'_ Celeste thought, sighing as she put the dishes away.

"Celeste."

Said girl jumped and whirled around to come face to face with Sebastian.

"Se-Sebastian!" she stuttered out, fidgeting a bit.

"Since you are finished here, please go clean the young master's study." He stated, holding out the cleaning supplies

"Sure!" she squeaked out, grabbing the cleaning supplies, and rushed past him.

She didn't know why, but recently, she felt the need to get as far away from Sebastian as fast as she could. Something inside of her told her to run away from him whenever he was around, that he was _dangerous_.

So, she did what he asked of her without complaint, just to save herself from being near him longer than necessary.

She knew that she was being irrational, that what she was feeling was irrational. Sebastian had never done anything to harm her, never even given signs that he wanted to harm her, but she still couldn't quell the feeling of fear and repulsion that raced through her whenever he was around.

Celeste didn't stop running until she was right outside Ciel's study room.

Calming down her racing heart, she stared sadly at the door, knowing that Ciel wouldn't be there. Letting out a soft, depressed sigh, she opened the door and stepped in, only to stare in shock at who she saw inside the study.

Ciel sat in stupefied shock as he stared into Celeste's gray eyes, which were also widened in shock. He had looked up in irritation and curiosity when he had heard the door open, ready to chew out who ever it was that was entering his study without permission, when he caught sight on who had entered his room without permission, he lost his anger, which was replaced by shock. By the look on the girl's face too, she was equally as shocked.

'_Damn you, Sebastian.'_ Ciel thought irritably as he took in the cleaning supplies in the girl's hands.

Sebastian had been pestering him nonstop about his obvious avoidance of the white-haired maid, watching in amusement as he made it a point to never be around when Celeste was around.

_-Flashback-_

Ciel sat in his chair, hunched over his desk, scribbling away on a document.

_Knock knock_

"Come in." Ciel stated, not bothering to look up from his work.

The door opened and footsteps made their way towards his desk.

"Young master…it's such a nice day. Why not go outside and enjoy the weather?" a velvety smooth voice stated.

Ciel lifted his head up and stared at Sebastian, suspicion filling his eye.

"Why…?" he asked. Sebastian always wanted him to finish his work, so why was he insisting that he go outside? He had to be up to something.

Sebastian smirked, his eyes filling with mirth.

"If you do not wish to go outside…than why not look outside at the nice scenery." Sebastian stated innocently.

Ciel gave him a hard look. Deciding to find out what Sebastian was getting at, he sighed and got out of his chair and walked over to the window in his study. Ciel gazed out of the window and his eyes traveled down to the garden.

His eye narrowed dangerously, his hands clenching into fists, growling dangerously at the scene before him.

Finny was running around, which was not unusual. What _was_ unusual was the fact that he was running around with his hand intertwined with a certain maid's. Said maid had a big smile on her face, a blush staining her cheeks when Finny stopped running and plucked a red rose out of the bushes and placed it in her hair.

Ciel watched as Celeste tentatively reached up and touched the flower. Her mouth widened as her smile grew and by the way her shoulders shook, Ciel knew she was laughing in embarrassment, if the way her blush darkened was any indication. He watched in barley controlled irritation as the maid and gardener sat on the ground, with Celeste plucking flowers from the ground, making a daisy crown, with Finny chatting animatedly.

Ciel watched as Celeste got up and placed the crown on the gardeners head, causing the boy to blush. He hissed violently as he watched Finny get up, grab the girl's hand, and plant a quick kiss on her hand and then quickly look away from her, a blush on his face. Celeste lifted her hand and stared at it, before looking up and catching the gardener's eyes. They stared at each other for a few seconds and then burst into laughter. Finny then grabbed Celeste's hand again, the one he had just kissed, and ran off with her again, leaving Ciel to stare at them, anger shaking his body.

"Is something wrong young master?" Sebastian asked, slight mockery in his tone.

Ciel whirled around and glared at the demon, knowing that was why the demon had wanted him to look out the window in the first place.

"Master?" Sebastian's face was one of pure, innocent, curiosity.

Ciel felt like bashing his face in.

"Get out." Ciel growled out, his tone low, dangerous, and with an edge of a warning.

Sebastian smirked, bowed, and left. His eyes dancing with mirth the whole time.

_-Flashback End-_

Just remembering the incident caused his blood to boil and he gave Celeste a glare, causing her to flinch and to take a step back. Ciel just went back to his documents, ignoring the white haired maid.

Celeste contemplated turning around and fleeing. She didn't know what she did to make him so mad. Just as she was about to turn tail and run, she stopped.

If she left, that meant she had to go back to report to Sebastian, and being around him anymore than what was necessary or required didn't sound too appealing to her.

Steeling the little nerves she had, she walked into his study, closing the door behind her, and began to tidy up the room. Ciel ignored her as she did this which caused Celeste to glance over at him nervously every few seconds.

"If you have something to say, say it." Ciel stated, agitated by how she kept glancing over at him.

Celeste jumped and quickly looked away from him.

'_Oh no…I only made him angrier…'_ she thought, biting her lip. _'But…I do want to know why he's so angry and why he is avoiding me…'_

She timidly made her way to Ciel's desk and shifted nervously from foot to foot, hesitating on what to say to him.

Ciel let out an irritated sigh, looking up at the fidgeting girl who was ringing her hands nervously

"What?" he snapped.

Celeste flinched before taking a deep breath, and steeling herself as she met his gaze.

"I-I'm sorry!" she blurted out, bowing.

Ciel just stared at her, his eye wide with shock.

"…Huh…?" he stated dumbly.

"I-I know that I must've done or said something wrong to be so mad at me! A-and even though I don't know what it is that I did o-or said, I apologize for it!"

Ciel just stared at her for a minute, before narrowing his eye.

"_You don't know?_"

Celeste flinched at his tone.

Truth be told, Ciel wasn't really mad at her to begin with. He had only avoided her before because he was embarrassed and ashamed of how he had acted when she had gotten hurt. It was so out of character for him. He only really got mad when he had seen what had occurred between her and Finny.

Just remembering it made his blood boil, which was why he was lashing out at her now.

Though the fault was all in Finny and his antics, the fact that she had been dense enough to let him do what he did only served to anger him further. This meant that his anger was misguidedly used on her.

"I-I'm sorry—" Celeste tried to apologize, but was cut off.

"Save it. I don't want an apology from you if you don't know what you did."

"But…what did I do?"

"If you don't know then maybe you should ask Finny." Ciel sneered.

"E-eh?! What does Finny have to do with this?!" she asked, looking at him curiously.

Ciel sighed and stood up, making his way towards the door.

"Forget it. If you don't know then forget it."

"W-wait!" Celeste quickly grabbed his hand to stop him from walking away.

Ciel went rigid and turned his head around to look at her, a glare ready, but his glare disappeared and was replaced by shock when he saw the girl's expression.

Her bottom lip was trembling and her eyes were wet and shiny, a tell-tale sign that she was holding back tears.

"I-I-I'm s-so-sorry…I-I know tha-that y-you don't wan-want t-to here m-my apology b-but I…I—" her voice wavered then broke, she released Ciel's hand as she covered her face with her hands, burying her face in them as she cried.

Ciel watched as she cried, running a hand through his hair he let out a huff.

"Stop it." Celeste continued to cry.

"Stop it!" his voice was becoming desperate but Celeste continued to cry.

"Stop it! Stop crying! It's an order!" he finally snapped, his eye wide as desperation filled him.

To his utter relief, Celeste's cries began to lessen into sobs.

"I-it doesn't wo-work that way, master," she murmured, smiling a soft, amused smile through her tears.

Ciel huffed in frustration and growled.

"Well, what do you expect me to do?!" he demanded, annoyed that she was finding the situation amusing. He was also mad because he was blushing.

"Well what do you want me to do?!" he demanded, hating the way his voice leaked out his desperation and agitation.

Celeste's smile dropped as she rubbed her eyes, trying to get rid of her tears.

"No…nothing…I-I'm s-sorry master…I-I know th-that yo-you—" her voice broke again as she let out another sob.

Ciel sighed, watching as the girl before him broke down again. Really, why did girls have to cry so much?

As if acting on impulse, Ciel opened his arms and embraced the girl. Celeste stiffened but then relaxed, crying into his arms. When her crying was reduced to sniffles he pulled away from her and held her at arm's length, both of their faces red from embarrassment, though Celeste's face was also red due to her tears.

'_What is wrong with me?!'_ Ciel thought, glancing at the girl. _'When Elizabeth cried, I only handed her a handkerchief! So why am I hugging this girl?!'_

"Sorry for acting like that master," Celeste said.

Though she didn't know why, she missed the feel of his arms around her. She felt _safe_ in his arms.

Though Ciel would never admit it, he liked the feel of her in his arms as well. It felt so…_right_ to hold her.

Banishing those thoughts from his head, Ciel sighed.

"No…don't apologize…"

"Bu-but—"

"I was angry at something else and I took it out on you." Ciel explained, cutting her off.

Celeste just stared at him before giving him a relieved smile.

"Really?! I'm glad!" Ciel just stared at her as she smiled at him.

Only she would be relieved and not angry with him.

He watched as she lifted her hand up and rubbed away the rest of her tears. Ciel's eye narrowed when he noticed it was the hand that Finny had kissed.

Feeling Ciel's intense gaze on her, Celeste looked up and recoiled in shock as she saw Ciel's narrowed, predatory gaze. It frightened her a bit.

"Ma-master…?" she called out to him cautiously.

Ciel snapped his gaze from her hand to her face and Celeste flinched under the full force of his gaze. He started to advance on her and Celeste stumbled back, away from him.

She didn't get very far though, because her back soon met with Ciel's desk, preventing her from moving any further. Celeste watched Ciel, never dropping his intense gaze.

Ciel placed both arms on either side of her, effectively blocking her from escaping. Bending down, Ciel angled his head so that he kissed Celeste's cheek. Backing up, he watched her with an intense eye, waiting for her reaction.

Celeste stared at him in shock.

Slowly, she lifted her hand up to her cheek, as if not believing what Ciel had just done. Blinking, her eyes widened and her whole face turned a heavy red.

"I-I-I-I th-th-think I- I-I sh-should b-be g-going kn-kno-know!" she squeaked out and dashed away, out of the room, forgetting all about her job of cleaning the room, and who she would have to deal with because she didn't finish cleaning.

Ciel didn't turn around to watch her go. Instead, he lifted his fingers to his lips, still feeling Celeste's soft; smooth skin on his lips, in sudden realization of what he had just done.

Eyes wide, he staggered over to his chair and plopped himself in it, a heavy blush on his face.

Though he was embarrassed and confused by his action, he was strangely content with it as well.

Even though Celeste would probably be avoiding him now, he had at least one upped Finny.

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><p><strong>That's it! How's that for a speedy update? I'm on a roll! Whoo~!XD I don't know why but I've been in the writing mood as of lately but that's a good thing for you guys, right?;D<strong>

_**Review Replies**_

**anna the Viking XD: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter! Makes me happy to know that. I hope this was a quick enough update! Which Pluto? The one from Mickey Mouse or the planet?**

**Rea-chan: I'm glad you like the pairing!**

**Paxloria: Sorry I can't answer your questions, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough!**

**I hoped you enjoyed! Please Review! Till next time!**


	10. That Maid, Jack the Ripper

**So…I'm gonna be releasing a bunch of chapters for this story! At least four! I'll be condensing the jack the ripper case arc into one chapter because it's not entirely important to the story, only one part is. So enjoy!**

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><p>Jack the Ripper<p>

Celeste stood beside Ciel as she waited for Sebastian to open the doors to Ciel's study. They were in his town house in London, and though she'd always wanted to visit it, she thought it would've been better if she had stayed back at the main house, just to make sure everything went smoothly.

As Sebastian opened the door, everyone froze.

Their stood a women and two men, standing in the middle of a messy office, complaining about not being able to find tea.

"Madam Red?! Lau?! Why are you here?!" Ciel exclaimed after he had gotten over his shock.

Madam Red glanced over at Ciel and was about to say something but stopped when she caught sight of Celeste.

"Oh, aren't you just the cutest thing!" she squealed, rushing up to the blushing girl, squishing the poor girls face with her hands. "Ciel, wherever did you find such an adorable creature!?" Madam Red gushed, glancing back at her nephew.

Ciel stared at her in surprise, watching as his maid was cuddled to death.

"Oh~ you are just the cutest little thing! What's your name sweetie? Where did Ciel find you?" she shot out questions, one after the other.

"Madam Red!" Ciel interrupted, stopping her from suffocating the poor girl with hugs and questions.

Madam Red blushed sheepishly.

"Ah-ha…I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself! She's just too adorable!"

"Um…I…I…my name is Celeste Diamante! I-it's nice to meet you ma'am!" Celeste bowed.

Ciel and Sebastian looked at her in surprise.

It was the first time she had ever said her last name.

Ciel filed this little tidbit of information for later, his interest in the girl peeked, while Sebastian's eyes narrowed.

'_Diamante…? Why does that name sound so familiar…?'_ he thought, before he was ripped out of his thoughts by Lau.

"Oh…but I must agree with Madam Red…you certainly picked a beautiful girl as a maid…" Lau said, walking closer to Celeste.

The girl, in turn, backed up.

"O-o-oh…uh-um…th-th-thank y-y-you…" she stuttered out. For some reason this man scared her.

"Lau! Get away from her! You're scaring her!" Madam Red yelled, thwacking him.

"But I was only stating a fact!" he said, easily dodging another blow to his head.

"Stay _away_ from her!" Ciel snapped, a piercing, rage filled glare directed at the Chinese man.

He held up his hands, backing away from the frazzled girl and angered Earl.

"Now, now, no need to get upset." Ciel growled at him and Madam Red eyed her nephew curiously.

Ciel huffed, ordered Sebastian to get tea, and turned to walk back into the room, leaving everyone else to follow after him.

As Celeste stood and listened to what they were discussing, she felt her stomach squeeze at what this 'Jack the Ripper' did to these poor women.

Soon enough, she found herself outside of a shop called 'Undertaker'. They walked into the shop and out of a coffin came a man with white-grey hair, with a scar running from one side of his face to the other. He was also wearing all black.

"Hi, hi….I knew that you would come. Welcome Earl…" the man stated in a creepy voice.

Grell, Madam Red, and Lau all backed up with fear evident on their faces, while Sebastian and Ciel remained unaffected, but Celeste felt her breath catch.

There was something oddly familiar about this man…she felt as if she knew him.

He seemed as if he was about to go on, but when he caught sight of her, nothing came out.

The longer they stared at each other, the feeling of recognition grew, until finally, Ciel stepped in between them, effectively blocking their view of each other.

Ciel levied a glare on the Undertaker, not exactly enjoying the way the man kept staring at her.

"I see you've gotten a new maid, Earl," he said, a smile gracing his lips.

Ciel's glare turned fiercer.

"I didn't come here to play games, or for formalities Undertaker."

The Undertaker chuckled.

"Yes…I know…"

Celeste shook her head and let out a sigh. She really just wanted to leave already.

.

Celeste stared in shock at her master. Ciel looked as if he was about to have a panic attack.

Ciel was dressed in a pink dress with lots of bows and frills, a pink top hap, and he had two pigtails attached to his hair.

Celeste blinked.

"You…you look nice master," she finally got out, shuffling away from him slowly. "I…I hope you have fun at…where…where ever it is you are going," with that, she turned on her heels and fled.

Ciel reached out his hand, his mouth open in surprise.

"Ah…ah…"

"Come, young master, we must get to the party." Sebastian said, a bemused smile on his face.

Ciel dropped his head in shame.

'_Out of all the people who could've seen me like this…why did it have to be her?'_ he thought glumly as he was led out by Sebastian.

.

Celeste watched in silence as Ciel and his aunt played chess.

She noticed that Ciel had been in a sourer mood than usual, and it all had to do with the newspaper that he had been reading earlier.

Grell ran past her as Madam Red yelled at him because he had made the herbal tea salty.

She felt bad for him, he kept getting yelled at because he kept messing up.

Sighing, Celeste left to complete her work.

.

Celeste slipped on her nightgown and let her hair out of its bun, brushing through it.

A knock sounded from the door and she stared quizzically at it, wondering who it could be.

"Yes…?" she asked, peeking out the door. "Eh? Madam Red?! Mr. Grell? Wh-what brings you here?" she asked, surprise coloring her tone and face.

She wasn't given an answer as a second later, she was knocked out and the last thing she saw were shark like teeth.

.

As Ciel and Sebastian were talking, they were interrupted by the sound of a scream.

"Wha-?! But no one went inside!" Ciel exclaimed.

"Let's go." Sebastian said, rounding the corner with Ciel.

Ciel slammed the buildings door open, his eye going wide as he took in the scene before him.

"Don't look!" Sebastian yelled, covering the boy's eye.

Ciel shook for a bit, before finally throwing up.

"That was rather over the top. It's all over the floor…"Jack the Ripper"…_no_, Grell Sutcliff." Sebastian said, watching as a blood covered Grell came into view.

"N-no, this is…I heard the scream and when I got here, it was already…" Grell started but was cut off by Sebastian.

"Already what? We were always right outside the only route. Just how did you manage to get into the same room as the deceased?" Sebastian asked. "Do you still plan on pretending in the state you're in? Isn't it enough? Mr. Grell…no…even 'Grell Sutcliff' must be fake, right?'" Grell took a step forward. "Please stop the act, Mr. Grell. Though I must say, it's the first time I've encountered a 'human like you'. Didn't you act so convincingly?"

Grell lowered his head for a minute before looking back up, a crazed look and smile on his face.

"Heh. Is that so? That's correct! I am an actress! And a top rate one at that." As he said this, he began to change his appearance. "But aren't you the same, Sebastian?"

"This is the name the young master has given me. I am Sebastian at the present."

"Oh, the role of a faithful dog! Even though a handsome man or a loyal dog is also nice~" he pushed up his glasses. "Then allow me to reintroduce myself, Sebastian…no…Sebas-chan! I am the butler of the Barnett family, Grell Sutcliff! We're both butlers, so hello!" he blew Sebastian a kiss and Sebastian prickled in disgust.

"Ah~ I can finally appear before you in my real form! Because isn't it embarrassing to appear before a handsome man with no makeup?! It was my first time seeing a demon as a butler, so I was very surprised at first!" Grell continued.

"This…aren't you the same?" Sebastian questioned. "I've lived long enough. I've never heard of 'that kind of person' becoming a butler. You, who should have stayed neutral between God and humans…Death God." Grell never lost his smile. "On the other hand, you are more or less a 'god'. Why did you choose to become a butler?"

"Don't say it like that!" Grell said. "Though I guess you can say I was captivated by a woman…" Ciel perked up at this.

"That woman is…?" Sebastian questioned.

"You don't really have to ask, do you? Sebastian." Out of the darkness came Madam Red and she stood in the doorway of the apartment.

"Madam Red…" Ciel said, moving Sebastian's hand away from his face.

"My calculations were wrong…who would've thought the person to uncover Grell's identity would be someone by your side, Ciel…" she said.

"From the very beginning, your name was on the lists of suspects. However, Madam Red, your alibi was perfect." Ciel stated.

"How terrible, Ciel. You would suspect one of your own?"

"As long as there is a possibility, I don't care whether the person is blood related or a friend." Ciel told his aunt. "In the list of suspects, any 'human' could not have done it. The same applied to you, of course. But if the co-criminal is not human, then that is a different matter." Ciel continued. "To be able to access Maria's room without us noticing, you should have the ability to go to the murder scene from the Viscount's place, right? And then, to disappear from the party for a few minutes, is something people would not notice…the ones able to be 'Jack the Ripper', would be the both of you…Madam Red, Grell Sutcliff!" Ciel kept talking, telling them how he figured it all out.

"How unfortunate…my cute nephew…my sister's son…if you hadn't discovered this, we could have still played chess together…however, I'm not going easy on you anymore!" Madam Red yelled.

Grell suddenly pulled out his death scythe and charged at Ciel, only to have it blocked by Sebastian.

"Wha…what is that?!" Ciel asked.

"In order to capture souls, all death gods have their own tool. Its name is 'Death Gods Scythe'." Sebastian explained. "This is my first time seeing this sort of thing…it truly is a troublesome thing…" he muttered.

"A regular scythe is so old fashioned, don't you think? The one I'm using was especially made to order," Grell started. "This 'death god's scythe' I'm using will play a duet with the soul's last moments! Of course I guarantee it's first rate!" Sebastian stood protectively in front of Ciel as Grell continued his rant.

"Death Gods should quietly capture the souls that are about to depart from this world. Butlers are supposed to follow their master like a shadow. To violate these two principles like you have, makes me want to throw up." Sebastian deadpanned.

"Hey! I really tried my best as a butler to serve my master! I even worked without my makeup or dressing up!" Grell whined.

"How shocking…and you still call yourself a butler?"

Grell smiled widely.

"Even if I'm like this, I'm still a butler of Death!" he declared.

"In the name of her majesty, and my own wretched name, I command you!" Ciel took off his eye patch. "Capture them!"

"Alright." Sebastian answered, taking off his coat and placing it on Ciel, shocking the boy.

"Are you sure you want to attack us?" Madam Red asked, a small smirk making its way to her face.

Ciel glared at her. "Why wouldn't I?"

Madam Red's smirk grew as she stepped back into the building a bit, reached down, and yanked something up.

Ciel's eye widened, as well as Sebastian's eyes.

In Madam Red's arms was an unconscious Celeste, with a knife pressed to her throat.

Ciel took in her form.

She was in her night dress and her hair was out of its usual bun and he noticed that her hair cascaded all the way down to her feet, a fact which surprised him and he resolved to ask her about why she kept her hair that long later.

"Celeste!" Ciel yelled, and the girl began to stir slightly. "Let her go! She has nothing to do with this!"

"On the contrary, she has _a lot _to do with this." Grell said, turning to the side. "Since you took and have something the Madam and I want, how about we take away something you want?"

Madam Red dropped the girl to the floor and backed up. Grell quickly took off and Sebastian followed him.

Celeste groggily looked up and let her eyes widen in horror.

There above her was Grell, his Death Scythe blade poised, ready to strike down at her.

_Thump. _Her bottom lip began to quiver. _Thump thump thump thump._ His blade swung down. _**BA-THUMP**_.

"NO!" she creamed, covering her head with her hands.

Grell stopped moving, his eyes wide with shock. He collapsed onto the ground, his body shaking and twitching as if he had been paralyzed.

Everyone watched in shock and Sebastian felt his own eyes narrow.

'_That energy…could it be…?'_ deciding to dwell on it later, Sebastian quickly grabbed the now, again, unconscious Celeste and jumped back to where his master was.

"Grell…are you okay?" Madam Red asked.

Grell nodded as he slowly got up, his eyes narrowing in on the unconscious girl.

'_I'll have to look up her records later.'_ He thought.

"That's quiet an interesting maid you've got there, but enough of that. Shall we get back to our little fight?" Grell said, smirking.

Sebastian frowned and placed Celeste onto the ground and Ciel immediately knelt down next to her.

Sebastian got into a fighting position just as Grell be can to charge.

_-Somewhere Else-_

"Oh dear…I would've hoped that she would be around here but I guess not…" Esmeralda muttered as she took in the decaying house.

"Oh where are you child? Why must you make finding you so difficult! Honestly!" the woman huffed, placing her hands on her hips.

A gasp escaped her lips as a shudder tore through her body. After a few seconds, she relaxed.

Narrowing her eyes, and turning on her heels, she rushed out of the house and into the direction that she felt the energy.

'_I hope I'm not too late!' _she thought, gritting her teeth. _'Do not worry Celeste, I am coming for you!'_

* * *

><p><strong>And that's it for this arc! It wasn't extremely important, that's why I skimmed through it. Anyways, hope you enjoyed!<strong>

_**Review replies:**_

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**Once again, hope you enjoyed and Review please!**


	11. That Maid, Ciel's Birthday

**Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy! It's derived from the manga, but I added some parts. I decided to release this on Ciel's (supposed) birthday, so once again, enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Ciel's Birthday<p>

Celeste sighed as she sewed.

Ciel had become distant ever since what happened with Madam Red and Grell. She shuddered at the memory of the few moments before she had passed out again.

"Ouch!" she hissed as she held up her hand to inspect her finger, which she had poked with a needle.

'_I should be more careful, I really don't want to get blood on this!' _and with that thought, she quickly banished all thoughts of Ciel and focused on the task at hand.

.

Ciel absently flipped through his newspaper, letting out an aggravated sigh.

His mind was still processing what his aunt had said to him, right before she had attacked him.

_-Flashback-_

_Madam Red approached the two preteens as Sebastian and Grell fought._

"_She's important to you, isn't she." She stated, watching as Ciel cradled the upper half of Celeste's body in his arms._

_Ciel's grip on the girl tightened._

"_She's just a pawn!" he said a bit too quickly._

"_Are you sure? Is that all she is? A pawn?" she stopped a few feet away from the two._

"…_Yes…" but by his hesitant and wavering voice, she knew he wasn't sure._

"_Are you sure? Are you sure she is not something higher…like _a queen_?" Ciel noticeably stiffened._

_He quickly took off Sebastian's jacket and placed it underneath the unconscious girl before standing upright rigidly, his hands clenched into a fist, though he still kept his gaze on the sleeping girl._

"_She…she's just a…she's just a pawn!" he sounded as if he was trying to convince himself more than his aunt._

"_I've seen the way you two look at each other, especially you, Ciel. It's a lot different from the way you look at Elizabeth." Ciel quickly looked up at her, his eye wide with shock, disbelief, and confusion._

"_Th-that's not tru—" _

"_Don't lose her because of your own denial. She's a very good girl." Madam Red looked at the girl with an affectionate expression. "I would have loved it if she had been my own daughter…" she murmured._

_Ciel glanced back down at his maid._

_If she had…would they have been engaged?_

_Somehow, this thought filled him with foreign warmth._

_Madam Red sighed, before her eyes took on a murderess look_

_-Back to the Present-_

How they looked at each other? How _he _looked at _her_? How it was different from how he looked at Elizabeth? What was all that supposed to mean?

He let out a frustrated sigh.

Madam Red was gone. There was no way for him to get answers to his questions.

He roughly crumpled up the newspaper just as Sebastian came in with his breakfast.

"Young master, are you okay?" Ciel didn't answer; he just took a sip of the tea he had placed before him.

Sebastian just sighed and began to recite his master's schedule.

"…You will be having Marchioness Middleford and Lady Elizabeth as guests in the afternoon—"

"What?! Sebastian, start the preparations immediately!" Ciel yelled, getting out of his seat.

"There's no need to be so anxious, the Marchioness will only arrive in the afternoon."

"You fool! This is Aunt Francis we're talking about!"

.

Celeste hummed as she skipped through the halls, a smile on her face.

In her hands were the last of the paint tubes she needed to complete her project.

Just as she was about to pass by the main staircase, she glanced down when she heard voices.

There, by the front door, stood a woman with a comb in her hand and a frown on her face. Despite the frown, she still thought the woman was pretty. Suddenly, the woman glanced up, as if feeling Celeste's stare. Celeste let out a squeak as she dashed back into the hallway.

"I see you've gotten a new maid, Ciel." Said maid sighed as she quickly hid the paint tubes in her uniform pocket and stepped back out and down the stairs as Ciel had called her out.

"Celeste, this is my Aunt Francis, Marchioness Middleford." Ciel said.

"He-hello, I-I'm Celeste Diamante, i-it's a pleasure t-to meet you Ma'am." Celeste said with a smile, bowing.

She said nothing about their new hairstyles, which both Sebastian and Ciel were thankful for.

Francis gave her a critical stare until her stare softened and she smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too. I'll be counting on you in the future to take care of my daughter and her husband." Celeste felt her heart squeeze uncomfortably, but she brushed it off and smiled up at the women.

"Of course!"

At the reminder of his marriage, Ciel flinched, glanced at Celeste, and then looked away, an act that didn't go unnoticed by his aunt.

"I was just about to do a spot check of the house, why don't you join us." Francis said off-handedly.

Celeste stiffened, the weight of the paint tubes in her pocket seemingly grew heavier.

"A-ah, um…th-thank you but I really should get ba-back to wor—"

"Come with us." Celeste whipped her head around to face Ciel, but he just stared straight ahead, not looking at her.

She sighed.

"O-okay…"

.

Celeste was having a hard time trying not to laugh.

Though she felt bad for Sebastian, because he got ridiculed and yelled at by the Marchioness, the sight, and sound, of some of the things the other servants were doing was just too funny.

She locked eyes with Ciel, who frowned at her and mouthed: 'stop laughing.' Celeste smiled apologetically and mouthed back: 'sorry.'

Francis eyed the exchange between the two.

Though her daughter hadn't noticed it, there was definitely something between the two. All throughout the 'tour', while her daughter repeatedly vied for his attention, Ciel kept his eye trained on Celeste.

She decided she'd confront him about it later.

.

"E-eh? You want me to go on the hunting trip as well?!" celeste exclaimed, pointing at herself.

"Why not, it promises to be interesting." Ciel replied, smirking from his seat on the horse.

"O-oh, but, um, I-I…" she stammered, trying to find an excuse as to why she couldn't go.

'_I'll never be able to finish if I go!' _she thought worriedly.

"Come on, let's go." Ciel held out his hand for her to take.

Francis felt her eyes widen slightly.

Here her nephew was, offering to let his _maid _ride on the same horse as him, over his own fiancé.

Elizabeth felt many emotions run through her. Anger, hurt, and jealousy more specifically.

Celeste flushed as she backed away from him.

"I-I'm sorry, bu-but I have a lot o-of work to do, s-so excuse me!" she bowed and fled before another word could be said.

Ciel just stared after her in surprise, but then, his smirk dropped and was replaced by a scowl.

It was easy to tell that after her rejection, Ciel's mood had soured considerably.

.

Once Celeste was back inside the mansion, she smiled.

She was finally able to finish her project!

Just as she was about to take a step back towards her room, she was suddenly tackled by the three bumbling servants.

"Wahh~ Celeste, help us!" they cried.

She sighed before giving them a soft smile.

"Okay, but please get off of me first."

.

As they made their way back to the mansion, Francis glanced at her nephew who was riding with Elizabeth.

He still held a deep scowl on his face, a clear indication that he was still upset over Celeste's rejection. Elizabeth was trying to cheer him up, but to no avail.

They put the horses away and went inside the manor. Once inside, they were greeted with bruised and messy servants and decorations. Once the servants caught sight of Ciel, they began to explain what they did to help decorate, with Celeste's help of course.

Sebastian and Ciel panicked when they saw the frightening look on Francis's face.

"Hmph. They are actually one step quicker than me." She walked closer to Ciel. "I came here specially today just for the sake of saying this." she patted his head and gave him a warm smile. "Happy thirteenth birthday, Ciel."

Just then, Celeste came barreling into the room, wheeling a cart into it as well.

"I finally finished you guys! Now you can see what I-Oh!" she stopped what she was saying when she caught sight of Ciel.

Cautiously, she wheeled the cart over to him.

"H-happy birthday, master…" she murmured, a blush staining her cheeks.

Ciel raised an eyebrow and uncovered what he guessed was his present.

Everyone stared in shock at what it was.

It was an exact replica of the Phantomhive manor and Ciel unclasped the hook, he saw miniature figurines of everyone who lived there inside.

He was in his office, Bard was in the kitchen, Sebastian was in his study, Finny was in the garden, Tanaka was in his usual position, sipping tea in the dining room, and Mey-Rin and Celeste were in the library.

"Do…do you like it…?" she asked softly, afraid of his answer.

Ciel stared unblinkingly at her, before a warm smile lit his face.

"Yes, I do. Thank you."

Celeste smiled and everyone cheered.

As Ciel stood by and watched everyone enjoy the festivities, his aunt came over to him.

"That maid of yours is something else, is she not?"

"Yeah…she is…"

"Ciel…do you love my daughter?" Ciel glanced up at his aunt in surprise.

"Huh?"

"Do you love my daughter? Or is there someone else in your life that you love?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"If there is someone else that you love, Ciel, do not lead my daughter on and break her heart." Before Ciel could reply, Francis left to go by her daughter.

Ciel sighed and let his eye travel over towards Celeste.

He felt his eye narrow at what he saw.

Finny had his figurine and Celeste's in his hand and placed both dolls next to each other in the garden. They then looked at each other and smiled, laughing.

.

Later on, in his study, Ciel picked up the Celeste figurine, and with a glare at the Finny figurine, placed the Celeste figurine right next to his.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's that! I hope you enjoyed and review please!<strong>

**Review replies:**

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	12. That Maid, Celeste's Birthday

**The next chapter is here! I hope you enjoy it! I'm releasing this on Celeste's birthday and boy is Ciel gonna be stressed out!**

* * *

><p>Celeste's Birthday<p>

It was a few days after Ciel's birthday and he and Celeste were in his office. Celeste was dusting as he was going through paper work, though he kept glancing up at the girl.

Ciel felt incredibly foolish.

Why? _Why _had he done that? It didn't matter if the Celeste figurine was next to the Finny one. It _shouldn't._ Should it? If it didn't matter, than why did it irk him so whenever he remembered the sight of the two dolls sitting next to each other?

And _why _did it hurt when she hurt?

If Celeste weren't there, he'd have groaned in frustration.

But…hadn't something like this happen before that made him feel this way? When she had first come here and she had avoided him because she thought he hated her, and so she hung out with Finny? And when he had watched as she and Finny danced with each other? And that time when he had avoided her because he was angry at the fact that she had let Finny kiss her hand? Or even the time when she had been staring at the Undertaker?

What had Sebastian called it? Jealousy?

Ciel froze.

There was no way that _he_ was _jealous._ It was preposterous!

If he what he was feeling was jealousy, which it most certainly was _not_, then that would insinuate that he liked the girl as more than a pawn, maybe even…more than a _friend_.

He stopped his train of thoughts right there.

They weren't even friends! She was pawn and nothing else, so he was absolutely _not _jealous.

But, if he wasn't…then why did it piss him off when she was with Finny? With any other male other than him? Why did this consuming feeling he felt only alleviate when she was with him, giving him all of her attention? Why did he only feel better when she was right beside him? Why did this consuming feeling make him do irrational things, and Ciel Phantomhive _never_ did irrational things, such as kissing her cheek (something that still confused him as to why he did it) just to make sure she understood that she was _his_ and no one else's?

_His…_

Yes, she was his. She was his pawn. He wasn't jealous; he was just bothered by the fact that she didn't acknowledge the fact that she was his pawn.

Satisfied with his reasoning, he leaned back in his chair.

He stole a glance at the girl and nearly panicked when he saw that she was dusting the doll house. If she peeked through the windows or unclasped the hook, she'd see that he had moved her doll!

He panicked even more as he watched as she reached to unclasp the doll house so she could dust the inside.

"C-Celeste!" the girl stopped reaching for the clasp and turned to face her master.

"Yes, Master Phantomhive?" she asked.

Ciel felt relief flood through him. He had successfully stopped her from opening the doll house. That relief was short lived however, because now he had to come up with a reason as to why he had called out to her.

He quickly racked his brain for something to say as Celeste waited for him to talk patiently.

"When's your birthday." He blurted out, and then felt like smacking himself.

Could that have been anymore lame?

But…he did want to know when her birthday was…

Celeste raised a brow at the sudden question but answered it anyways.

"It's the sixteenth of this month."

Ciel blanched.

"The _sixteenth?!_"

She nodded, confused as to why he sounded so surprised.

"Um…yes…" Ciel let out a sigh as he rubbed his forehead.

"Um…master…?"

"I'm fine. Just…go tell Sebastian to bring me more tea." She nodded, but felt worried over his sudden mood change.

Once Ciel heard the door close, he let out a frustrated groan.

Really, did she _not _know what day it was today?

It was the fifteenth, which meant that he only had _today_ to prepare a gift and to throw a party for her! Did she just enjoy stressing him out?

Ciel blinked.

Why should it matter if he didn't get her a gift or throw her a party?

He groaned again.

He just wanted to repay her for her kindness and to reward her for her services. Yes, that was it. That was the only reason that it mattered.

He let out another groan as Sebastian came in with his tea.

.

Ciel grumbled as he walked through the halls, looking for Celeste.

He had told the others about the party and had sworn them to secrecy. He had left them to do the decorating, which resulted in him having to distract Celeste.

He didn't mind so much, seeing as he still needed to figure out what she wanted for her birthday, but she was making it hard for him to find her! Granted, she was a maid so she was all over the manor, but still!

He let out an aggravated sigh.

"Master, what's the matter?" Ciel turned around to see Celeste staring at him in worry.

"Nothing's the matter." He answered.

She didn't look convinced but nodded her head anyways.

"Okay…"

"What do you like?"

"Eh?! W-what d-do I like…?" she asked, blinking in surprise.

"Yes. Jewelry, candy, what?" he prompted.

He would've gone for the subtle approach, just so she wouldn't suspect anything, but he didn't really have the time to go the subtle way.

Celeste tilted her head to the side in thought.

"Well, um…I'm not exactly sure…" she answered truthfully, blushing slightly.

Ciel frowned. How did she not know what she liked?

"You don't know…"

"W-well, um…I-I suppose…so-something hand-made."

"Hand-made?" Ciel questioned, an eyebrow raised.

Celeste nodded vigorously.

"Y-yes! I-I guess you could say that…if it is something someone made themselves then…it's as if a piece of them is always with you. I guess it just feels more like a gift from the heart."

"A gift from the heart, huh…"

"S-sorry, I guess I'm not explaining it very well am I?"

"No…I understand…" Ciel mumbled, beginning to walk away from the girl.

"I'm sorry…if this is about what Lady Elizabeth might like then I'm sure the marchioness could tell you better than I could…" she mumbled, looking down and blushing in shame.

Ciel whirled around and looked at her in surprise.

She really thought he was asking for Elizabeth? Did she not know what day it was tomorrow?

Deciding not to reply, Ciel just sighed, turned back around, and left.

.

Ciel roamed around his mansion, lost in thought.

So far he knew that Celeste would like a hand-made gift.

The only problems were that he didn't know how to make anything hand-made, and that he didn't even know _what _to make her.

He really should have asked her when he had the chance.

Just then, he heard a soft giggle.

He peeked around the corner of the wall, and raised an eyebrow at what he saw.

Celeste was sitting on her knees, on the floor, a mop and bucket full of water and soap lay beside her, forgotten, and in her hands was a stuffed fox, one he recognized as the one she had when she first got to his home.

"Oh Kiki…I wonder what's gotten into everyone, especially Master Phantomhive…." She sighed as she told the worn toy. "Everyone's been so secretive and have been avoiding me and master…well he…he's been asking a lot of questions and he seems more high strung…" she then tilted her head to the side as she thought about something. "Now that I think about it…he has been asking me things about what I like…I wonder…maybe…he's asking me because my birthday is tomorrow…?"

Ciel froze.

He really should have gone with the subtle approach.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Celeste's voice.

"No…that definitely could not be the reason he is seems stressed. He probably only asked because his birthday has just passed and because he was just curious! Master Phantomhive would never bother with something as trivial as my birthday." With that she sighed and stood up. "Well…at least I know I have you, Kiki," she said, hugging the fox to her chest. "Stuffed animals are the greatest!" she placed a kiss on the fox's head before placing it back in the pocket of her skirt. "Well, back to work!" she said cheerfully, picking up the mop and the bucket and heading off down the hallway.

Ciel stared after her, mouth hanging open in shock.

She honestly thought her birthday meant _nothing_ to him?! Did the idea of him actually caring about her seem so absurd?

His eyes widened.

He…he _cared _about her? He, Ciel Phantomhive, actually cared about someone other than himself, and a maid at that! A maid he's just recently acquired!

He shook his head, clearing those thoughts from his head.

He did _not _care about that girl. He _did not._

He released a sigh as he walked off, back towards his office.

Well, he had at least learned that she liked stuffed animals, which meant that he knew what he was going to make her. All he had to figure out was what animal he would make. He let out a groan as he sat in his chair.

His eye fell on a letter from the Queen, addressed to 'My Guard Dog', namely him.

'…_if it is something someone made themselves then…it's as if a piece of them is always with you. I guess it just feels more like a gift from the heart.'_

He blinked as Celeste's words came back into his mind.

A piece of them is always with you, huh? Well, at least now he knew what he was going to make.

He rubbed his head as he called for Sebastian.

He already knew the demon was going to take great pleasure in tormenting him about this.

_**The Next Day-**_

Celeste sighed as she walked around the manor.

She had seen none of the other servants or her master around, and on top of that, Mey-Rin hadn't come to wake her up so she had slept in for three hours!

'_Master Phantomhive is going to be so angry…' _she thought, sighing again.

Everyone had been acting so secretive yesterday, and now, they were no were to be found.

Celeste fingered her mother's necklace.

She normally didn't wear it, for fear that something would happen to it while she was working, but since today was her birthday, she decided she would wear it.

'_Even though they don't know it's my birthday today…I at least wanted to spend it with everyone…'_ it might not have been the first year she spent her birthday without her parents or anyone other than her stuffed fox, but even if they didn't know what today was, she at least wanted to spend it with all her friends. They were like her make shift family.

'_Oh well…I guess I should just focus on my work…' _she thought sadly, opening the door that led to the dining room.

"Surprise~!" she looked up quickly, startled.

Her mouth dropped open at the sight before her.

The whole place was decorated with streamers and balloons and there was a big sign that read: 'Happy Birthday Celeste!' The table was set up with plates, knives, forks, spoons, and in the middle, a big cake.

"Wh…what is this…?" she asked as she looked around the room.

"The young master told us that it was your birthday today so we were all decorating and preparing for it yesterday!" Finny told her, grabbing her hand and dragging her into the room.

She looked at Ciel, who just looked away, a blush forming on his cheeks.

"You…you did this all for me…?" she asked, staring at everyone with wide eyes.

They all smiled and nodded at her while Finny cheered 'yep!'

"I…I don't know what to say…" she whispered.

"Don't say anything, just enjoy it." Ciel said, walking up to her with his hands behind his back. "Here. Happy birthday." He thrust something at her, avoiding her gaze.

Celeste took the thing out of his hand and on closer inspection, found that it was a stuffed puppy.

The puppy was blue-black with two cerulean, button eyes, a black, button nose, a poorly done stich-mouth, and it had a black ribbon tied around its neck. Most of the dogs stitching was sticking up, a tell-tale sign that it was home made.

She glanced down at Ciel's hands and saw that they were wrapped in bandages.

"Master! Your hands—"

"As you can tell, I'm not good at sewing or anything of the sort but…since you said you would like something hand-made I made that." He interrupted her, looking away from her.

She just stared at him, before her eyes softened and she looked down. She clutched onto the stuffed animal harder as she began to shake and tears began to fall from her eyes.

"H-hey! I-I know it's not good but you don't have to c—!" he was cut off as Celeste flung her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"Thank you! Thank you so much master! You don't know how much this means to me! This is the best birthday I've had in a long time!"

Ciel was blushing hard as he opened his mouth to yell at her to let go, but, instead, sighed and just wrapped his arms around her waist loosely.

He glanced up and locked eyes with Sebastian who stared at them in amusement. He glared at his butler who mouthed 'how cute.'

This caused Ciel to blush harder and to finally pull out of Celeste's grip. She just smiled happily at him, wiping away some excess tears.

"Well now…how about we have some cake?" Sebastian questioned, already holding up a knife.

Everyone cheered, besides Ciel and Tanaka, who did his usual 'ho, ho, ho', and took a seat at the table.

.

Celeste clutched her newly acquired stuffed dog, and for some odd reason, it reminded her of Ciel (not knowing that he made it like that intentionally) and paced back and forth in front of her room door.

Though she was happy she got to spend her birthday with her make shift family, she dreaded going to bed on her birthday because she would always get nightmares.

She sighed as she eyed the door wearily. If she could, she would stay up all night, but she knew that she'd fall asleep sooner or later and her nightmares would come.

"Celeste." She jumped at the sound of her name and whirled around, her back pressed to her room door.

"O-oh, Se-Sebastian! He-hello…" she stuttered out, pressing herself up against the door even more.

"Is there a reason that you are pacing back and forth in front of your room door?"

"N-no…" he knew she was lying but decided not to push it.

"Then please go and prepare for bed."

"Ye-yes!" she squeaked out, opening the door and dashing inside, slamming it shut behind her.

Sebastian sighed as he kept walking down the hall.

Celeste leaned against the door, letting her heart get the chance to calm down. She let out a sigh as she looked at the bed.

'_I guess I should just face my nightmare's…'_ she gulped as she got ready for bed.

She lied down on her bed and let sleep consume her. She was still afraid of the nightmares, but she knew she had to go to sleep.

Her eyes closed and she drifted off into sleep.

_-Inside Celeste's Mind-_

"_Mommy? Daddy?" a five year old Celeste called out to her parents._

"_P-please! Don't kill us!" she heard her mother beg._

_Celeste rushed to her parent's bedroom and watched, in horror, through the crack of the door as her father and mother were killed._

"_Mommy! Daddy!" she cried, bursting through the door and rushing to her parent's bodies._

_Before she could get to them however, she was roughly yanked by the collar of her dress and lifted off the floor._

"_Let me go! Please let me go!" she cried, struggling in the persons grip._

_The person used his other hand to grab the girl's neck and he let go of the collar of her dress with his other hand._

"_**This is all your fault…**__" Celeste looked up at the person's face as she struggled to get out of his choke hold._

_His face, however, was shrouded in darkness._

"_**If you had only come to me when I had told you to…your parent's would've lived. This is your fault! They died because of you!**__"_

"_No!" she cried, tears leaking out of her eyes. "No!"_

_Even though the person's face was shrouded in darkness, she could tell he was smiling because he had opened his mouth and she could see pointed, sharp teeth._

"_**Such a disobedient girl…no matter…you'll come to me even if I have to take you by force!**__" he said as he began to walk out with her and Celeste began to scream, cry, and kick, trying anything to get away from the person._

"_No! Please no! No, no, no, no!"_

_-Back to reality-_

"NO!" Celeste woke up, screaming, sweating.

Tears poured down her face as she scrambled out of her bed and ran out of the room.

She panted heavily as she ran, letting her feet take her wherever.

Finally, she burst through a door, out of breath and panting.

Ciel woke up with a jolt as he heard his room door slam open. He stared in confusion as he made out the figure in his doorway.

From the moonlight that streamed through his curtains, he saw that it was Celeste.

"C-Celeste? Wha-what are you doing here?!" he demanded, blushing.

She didn't reply, she just ran into the room and threw herself at Ciel, sobbing into his chest.

Ciel was about to yell at the girl but stopped when he felt her tears begin to soak through his shirt and when he heard her sobs. Her body was shivering uncontrollably.

"H-hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

"N-nightmare…d-don't let him g-get me!" she stuttered out through her tears.

Ciel sighed as he wrapped his arms around the girl.

He had never seen her so frightened and the thought of anything frightening her this bad set his blood on fire. But what really ticked him off was the fact that he could do nothing to alleviate her fears. He could only try to console her.

He was _powerless_, and Ciel hated feeling like that.

He ran his hand through her soft hair and held her to him closely.

Her sobs died down as she was lulled back to sleep by the feeling of Ciel running his hand through her hair, though she still shivered.

Ciel held her in his embrace until he too fell asleep.

Unbeknownst to the two, Sebastian had watched the whole thing, his eyes narrowed in thought.

He had been alarmed when he felt a sinister aura emit it's self from Celeste's room. He had immediately rushed to her room but stopped when he took in the full force of the evil aura.

It was choking and incredibly sinister and he knew of only one person who had an aura that vile.

But it was impossible.

Sebastian couldn't fathom why _he _would transmit himself here.

Just as he was about to go into Celeste's room, he heard her shout and then, only a few seconds later, burst out of her room, frightened with tears cascading down her face.

He followed her silently and watched as she ran into his master's room and threw herself at him while his master did his best to comfort her.

He waited until they had both fallen asleep and then he silently walked into the room, pulled the covers over both of them, and then walked out, closing the door behind him.

He didn't have a clue as to what was going on, and that irked him, but one thing he did know was that something bad was headed their way and it was all because of Celeste.

Now he was beginning to regret suggesting to his master to take her in.

* * *

><p><strong>That's it! I hope you enjoyed it! The story is going to start picking up soon, so be prepared;) Hehe!<strong>

_**Review replies:**_

**anna the viking XD: I'm glad you thought so and don't worry, I will!**

**RANDOM FOX GRRL: Yes, our little Ciel is very possessive.**

**Athena11231: Thanks, I'm glad you like it! I plan too, so no worries.**

**tohru15: I'm glad you loved it! Yeah, she is and I'm glad you liked Celeste's present to Ciel! I'm glad to hear that! And I plan on updating at least by Saturday.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Review please! Until next time!**


	13. That Maid, Christmas

**Before I start the story…YES THIS IS RELEVANT TO THE MAIN STORY! Now that we've established that, enjoy this chapter! I made it extra-long!**

* * *

><p>Christmas<p>

"A Christmas party?" Ciel asked, glancing up from his newspaper.

Celeste nodded, a hopeful smile on her face.

It had seemed that his servants had smartened up, if only a bit.

While they knew there was a high chance of him turning them down, they had sent Celeste in their stead. They knew that he was less likely to turn down the idea of a Christmas party if it were Celeste asking him.

And they were right.

Ciel felt his eye twitch.

He wanted nothing more to do than to say no. He figured that they had already had enough parties, so he was dead set on saying no.

But of course, his mouth didn't seem to want to listen to his brain.

"Alright." Celeste cheered, about to hug him, when his three bumbling servants decided to come crashing through his office door, cheering in excitement.

Mey-Rin and Bard jumped up and down while Finny went and hugged Celeste, lifting her off the ground and twirling her around, causing her to laugh.

Ciel narrowed his eye at this while his grip on the paper tightened.

Finny finally stopped spinning, but instead of putting her down, he draped over his shoulder, causing her to let out an embarrassed squeak and to turn a deep shade of red.

Ciel's newspaper crumpled some more while his eye glared daggers at the gardener.

"C'mon Celeste, let's go get a tree!" he cheered, running out of the room with her.

"I'm going to make a list of all the food I'm going to cook!" Bard declared, rushing out.

"I'll go pull the decorations out for the tree!" Mey-Rin rushed out of the room, a smile on her face.

Ciel let out a sigh as he set the newspaper down and rubbed his forehead.

Things had been awkward between him and Celeste for a bit, and Sebastian's teasing hadn't helped it.

_-Flashback-_

"_My lord, though you may find your current position enjoyable, I do believe it is time to get up."_

'Enjoyable…? What is he talking about…?' _Ciel thought, gripping onto his warm, soft pillow. He buried his nose into it, taking in the floral scent._

'Wait…floral scent? And…why does this pillow feel…weird?'

_Suddenly, his 'pillow' shifted slightly and released a breath of hot air on his collarbone._

_Ciel popped open his eyes and felt his breath hitch._

_There, wrapped in his arms was Celeste, with her face snuggled closely to his chest. _

_Ciel blinked, before his whole face erupted into a fiery red._

_He quickly unwound his arms from around her and moved away from her, only to tumble to the floor, bringing her with him because of course, to add to his embarrassment, their legs had somehow become tangled together._

_Celeste slowly blinked her eyes open and stared sleepily into Ciel's cerulean eye (thankfully, he had enough sense to close his eye with the mark on it) not realizing the position they were in._

"_Did you two have a nice sleep?" Sebastian asked, an innocent smile on his face._

_Celeste glanced up at him, then down at Ciel, who she was currently on top of, before her eyes widened and her face turned such a deep red that if it wasn't for his own embarrassment, Ciel would be worried that her brain would explode from the amount of blood that rushed to her face._

"_I-I-I-I!" she stuttered up, scrambling away from him, effectively untangling their legs._

_She got off the floor and bowed repeatedly._

"_I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry Master Phantomhive! I didn't mean, I meant…I…I…I…I'm so sorry!" she ran out of the room, her face darker than before._

_Ciel just sat on the floor, still blushing, staring after her in a daze, until Sebastian snapped him out of it._

"_Don't worry my lord, I won't tell Lady Elizabeth about your sharing a bed with another girl." He smiled as Ciel's face flushed darker and he scrambled up, off the floor._

"_Sh-shut up!"_

_-Back to the present-_

Ciel sighed as a pale blush tinted his cheeks.

Even thinking about it made him blush.

Things had been awkward between them the rest of the day but slowly, they had gotten over it. Both of them 'erasing' it from history and putting it out of their minds, which he was thankful for.

Though it was an embarrassing experience, Ciel was more worried about Celeste's dilemma regarding her nightmares.

_-Flashback-_

_Celeste entered Ciel's office after getting permission to enter._

"_Y-you wanted t-to s-see m-me master?" she asked, a blush on her face._

"_Yes. It's regarding the nightmare of yours." It took all he had to beat his blush down._

_Celeste flinched at the mention of her nightmare._

"_W-what about it?"_

"_Was it really that frightening that you had to…y-you know…b-but anyways, surely you've had nightmares before! What was so frightening about this one?"_

_Celeste fiddled with the end of her skirt before letting out a sigh._

"_I…on my birthday…ever since I was a baby I've gotten these frightening nightmares on my birthday…"_

_Ciel raised a brow._

_She always had 'frightening' nightmares on her birthday? _

"_You make it seem that you only get nightmares on your birthday."_

"_I don't! B-but the one's I get on my birthday feel…different somehow. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it but…I just know that I'd rather have regular nightmares every day for the rest of my life then face the ones that come on my birthday."_

_-Back to the present-_

'_They must really frighten her if she'd say that.'_ He thought rubbing his forehead.

He sighed and got up, deciding to go and check on the preparations for the party.

.

"Finny…don't you think we should get an axe…?" Celeste asked.

"Nope! I got it!" he said, smiling at her.

After begging him to at least let her get her coat, gloves, scarf, and hat on, they had made their way outside to get a tree.

Celeste was currently trying to get Finny to use an axe to cut down the tree, but he assured her that he could do it without one.

The girl frowned.

"If you're sure…"

Finny just nodded and then rushed to the tree and hit it.

There was a cracking sound before the tree began to sway and then fell over.

"See Celeste, I did it without an axe!" he turned to look at the girl, smiling, but then stopped and started laughing instead.

Celeste had gotten snow on her when the tree had started swaying so now she was shaking snow off of her.

"It's not funny, Finny!" she pouted.

Finny continued to laugh at his friend's misfortune, but stopped when he got hit with something cold and wet.

Finny wiped the snow off of his face and stared at Celeste who giggled.

"I'm going to get you for that Celes!" he got up and Celeste ran off laughing.

And so started their snowball fight.

.

"They're not back yet?" Ciel said, frowning.

"They should have gotten the tree already but they haven't come back yet, yes they haven't." Mey-Rin replied.

Ciel sighed.

"I'll go see what's taking them so long. Sebastian, get my things!" he turned and walked away with Sebastian meeting him at the front door with his coat, scarf, and gloves.

.

Celeste held a snowball in hand as she peeked around the corner of the wall she was hiding behind, looking for Finny.

She heard the soft crunch of snow behind her and immediately spun around, closed her eyes, and launched her snowball and was rewarded with the sound of a small 'oof'.

"He-he! I got you Fin—!" she gasped when she looked at the person she had hit.

Ciel stood there, an irritated look on his face as snow fell from his clothes.

"O-oh! M-master Phantomhive! I-I'm so sorry I—" Ciel cut her off by putting his hand up, releasing an irritated sigh.

He glanced at her sharply when he heard giggling.

Celeste had her hand covering her mouth as she tried to stifle her giggles, but to no avail.

"Stop it! Stop laughing! That's an order!"

"S-sorry master I…!" Celeste kept laughing much to Ciel's chagrin.

He huffed and was about to turn around and leave but stopped and smirked sinisterly as an idea popped into his head.

Bending down, he scooped up some snow, packed it into a ball, and chucked it at the laughing girl.

Celeste let out a squeak and stopped laughing when she felt the snowball hit her.

She stared at Ciel who smirked at her.

That's how the two found themselves in their own snowball fight.

.

"Look at you two. You're soaking wet." Sebastian said, looking at the shivering and wet forms of the two preteens.

Celeste gave him a sheepish smile while Ciel just looked away.

Sebastian sighed.

"Go get changed and come back to the main hall, we will start decorating when you two return."

Celeste smiled and nodded, running off while Ciel just followed after her slowly. Sebastian just sighed and shook his head, heading back to the main hall.

.

Celeste hummed as she along with Ciel, Finny, Bard, Sebastian, and Mey-Rin decorated the tree while Tanaka sat and watched.

The others were slightly surprised that Ciel had decided to help them decorate, seeing as he normally didn't, but with a little convincing on Celeste's part, he caved.

"Ne…Celeste…what's that song you're humming? You've been humming it for a while." Finny asked, glancing over at the girl.

Celeste blushed in embarrassment.

"O-oh…have I…? Sorry, it's just a song my nanny used to sing to me."

Finny nodded but then smiled brightly.

"Ne, Celeste, did you think of a present for me yet?"

Celeste nodded.

"Really?! What it is it?"

She giggled.

"Silly! I'm not going to tell you!"

Finny pouted and began to whine, causing the girl to laugh. Because of this, she was oblivious to the stare Ciel was giving her.

.

"What I want for Christmas?" Celeste asked.

Ciel nodded.

He had called Celeste into his office to ask her what she had wanted for Christmas, since he had no idea what to give her or what she wanted.

"Is…is it alright if I tell you later…?" she asked, looking down and shuffling her feet.

Ciel cocked his eyebrow and gave her a confused look.

"Why?"

"It's just that…um…we have to worry about the Christmas party right now so I just…" she trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

Ciel sighed but consented anyways.

"Alright." Celeste looked up at him and smiled.

"Thank you." Ciel just nodded and dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

.

They had the Christmas party on the twenty-first, deciding that it was better to have it then then on Christmas Eve or Christmas day, seeing as people would want to spend it with their families.

The whole Middleford family and Elizabeth's nanny, Paula, had been invited as well as a few of Ciel's close business partners.

Celeste hummed as she went around serving drinks to the guests. She reached Ciel who was getting yelled at by a man who Celeste had never met.

"Excuse me…" she said timidly, cutting off whatever it was the man was about to yell at Ciel.

"What?!" he snapped, looking at her.

Celeste flinched and held out the tray to him.

"W-would you l-like so-something t-to drink, s-sir?"

"Oh. Thank y—" he took the drink but stopped when he met Celeste's gaze.

His heart thumped in his chest as he swallowed a thick lump in his throat.

'_She…she's more beautiful than Elizabeth!' _he thought, continuing to stare open-mouthed at the girl.

His face heated up at what he had just thought and he mentally chastised himself. How could he find any girl more beautiful than his dear sister!

"S-sir…? Are you o-okay…?" she asked, looking up at him in concern.

"Erm, I, uh…"

Ciel gave him a cold glare, not liking the way he was looking at Celeste.

"Edward." He quickly glanced at Ciel and cleared his throat.

"What?" Ciel didn't reply, he just looked away.

"Why you—!" he was cut off by Celeste's giggle.

He looked over at her, a blush on his face.

"What? Why are you laughing?"

"S-sorry…it's just that…you are a very spirited man, aren't you?" Edward blushed harder while Ciel glared at him.

"I'm Celeste, the new Phantomhive maid! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Celeste said, bowing as much as she could with the tray.

"Ah, um…I am Edward Middleford."

"Could it be that…you are the older brother of Lady Elizabeth?"

Edward grinned proudly.

"Why yes, you've heard about me?"

Celeste shook her head no.

"I-I just thought that since you two looked alike and you shared the same last name…"

Edward visibly deflated.

"Oh."

"Ahem." Celeste and Edward looked at Ciel who was none too pleased at being forgotten, especially by Celeste. "Don't you have to serve the other guests?"

Celeste nodded.

"Yes, you're right." She bowed. "It was a pleasure meeting you Lord Edward." And she walked off, leaving Edward to watch as she left.

Ciel cleared his throat and gave him a pointed stare to which he ignored.

Neither where aware of the cold stare Elizabeth used to watch the whole exchange.

Celeste continued to hum as she continued to make her rounds.

"Oh Celeste~!" said girl turned around to find Elizabeth smiling at her.

"O-oh! Lady Elizabeth! He-hello!" Celeste did a quick bow.

She saw something pass in Elizabeth's eyes but it was gone so fast that she was left to believe that she had imagined it.

"I heard you humming the same song for a while now and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind _singing_ it for everyone!"

Celeste looked at her in horror.

"Oh no! No, no, no, no, no! I couldn't!"

"Oh it's okay! Come on! Come here where everyone can here you!" Elizabeth grabbed her free arm and dragged her over to the space by the piano.

"B-but I—" Celeste tried to protest but it fell on deaf ears as Elizabeth continued to drag her along.

"Elizabeth. Let her go." Both girls quickly looked at Ciel who had his hand clasped on Celeste's upper arm.

Elizabeth pouted.

"I just wanted to hear her sing~!" she whined.

"Elizabeth…" Ciel said in a warning tone but Elizabeth continued to pout at him.

Feeling the growing tension, Celeste sighed and spoke up.

"O-okay. I w-will sing." Elizabeth smiled at her while Ciel stared at her in shock.

"You don't have to—" he started but Celeste interrupted him with a shake of her head.

"It's okay! I-I'll do it!" she pulled out of both of their grasps and set the tray of drinks down on a nearby table before walking up to stand next to the piano.

Everyone quieted down once they noticed the girl standing there and all watched her with curiosity.

Celeste took a deep breath and began to sing.

_God rest ye merry gentlemen_

_Let nothing you dismay_

_Remember, Christ, our savior_

_Was born on Christmas day_

_To save us all from Satan's power_

_When we were gone astray_

_Oh tidings of comfort and joy,_

_Comfort and joy_

_Oh tidings of comfort and joy_

_From God our heavenly father_

_A blessed angel came,_

_And unto certain shepherds_

_Brought tidings of the same:_

_How that in Bethlehem was born_

_The son of God by name._

_Oh tidings of comfort and joy,_

_Comfort and joy_

_Oh tidings of comfort and joy_

She paused for a bit before continuing

_And when they came to Bethlehem _

_Where our dear savior lay,_

_They found him in a manger,_

_Where oxen feed on hay,_

_His mother Mary kneeling down,_

_Unto the lord did pray._

_Oh tidings of comfort and joy,_

_Comfort and joy_

_Oh tidings of comfort and joy_

_Now to the lord sing praises,_

_All you within this place,_

_And with true love and brotherhood_

_Each other now embrace,_

_This holy tide of Christmas_

_All other doth deface._

_Oh tidings of comfort and joy,_

_Comfort and joy_

_Oh tidings of comfort and joy._

She ended the song, bowed, and quickly scurried off the stage, face beet red.

Everyone watched her leave with stunned expressions on their faces.

Her voice had been so beautiful that they had all been lost in a daze as they listened to her sing.

Elizabeth quickly snapped out of it and felt her cheeks puff up. She hadn't expected her voice to be that good.

Soon, the party started back up again and everyone complimented Ciel on 'catching' a maid with such a beautiful voice.

"How much would you be willing to sell that beautiful maid of yours for?" one of Ciel's close business partners asked, eyeing the maid.

Ciel stiffened and he gave the man a bone chilling glare.

"She's _not _for sale." The man shuddered at his voice and nodded quickly.

Ciel huffed and walked away, his glare turning fiercer when he noticed Edward was swooning.

Francis stood with her husband who was talking to one of the guests about the girl's beautiful voice, but Francis wasn't listening.

'_That girl's voice…why does it remind me of _her_?' _Francis thought, eyeing the maid up and down as she conversed with her fellow servants. _'She does bear a strong resemblance to her but it can't possibly be. What could be the chances?'_

.

The party continued on for a few more hours until it ended.

After everyone was sent off, the servants began to clean up while Sebastian took Ciel to prepare for bed.

"Master! Wait please!" Ciel paused on the stairwell and looked down at her.

Celeste quickly ran over to the table that had once been covered with desserts but was now empty, and got on her knees and crawled underneath it before reappearing with wrapped boxes in her arms.

"I want to give everyone their gifts!" she said, smiling.

"But can't that wait for Christmas?" Ciel questioned, yawning.

Celeste shook her head no and began to hand out the gifts.

She gave Finny his gift first, which irked Ciel, and he opened it to reveal a hand woven scarf.

"Since I noticed that you needed a new one, I made you one! I hope you like it…" she said as Finny examined it.

It had all the seasons on it: a sun for summer, a red leaf for autumn, a snowman for winter, and a flower for spring.

"Like it? I love it! Thank you, Celeste!" Celeste smiled at him.

Next, she handed Bard his gift.

"Since you like to use weaponry to cook, I thought that I would give this to you! I hope you like it!" the apron read 'art is an explosion!' and upon reading it, Bard smiled.

"'Ey! I love it!" Celeste smiled happily.

She then gave the next gift to Mey-Rin.

"Since I know you cut yourself on glass sometimes, I made you these gloves to protect your skin. I hope you like them." Mey-Rin tried on the gloves and smiled.

"Thank you! I love them! They fit perfectly, yes they do!" Celeste laughed a bit.

"Here you go Mr. Tanaka! I made you a new tea cup! I hope you like it!"

She was rewarded with a 'ho, ho, ho' as Tanaka set his old tea cup down and picked up the new one.

Celeste then scurried up the stairs and stopped in front of Sebastian.

"I know you love cats, and since you are not allowed to have a real one, I took the liberty of making you this!" Sebastian unwrapped his present and saw a hand-made, stuffed black cat that resembled the one he goes to see when he's stressed out. He hadn't realized that anyone had seen him with the cat.

"Thank you Celeste, I like it." She smiled happily.

She then turned to Ciel, who was a little peeved that he was last, and blushed as she handed him his gift.

"I wasn't entirely sure what to give you but I do hope you like it anyways." She mumbled as he unwrapped it.

Ciel blinked in surprise at what he saw.

It was a stuffed hand-made puppy. It was white with grey button eyes and a well done stich mouth. It was a much better version of the stuffed dog he had given her for her birthday.

"I…I figured we could have one's that matched…in a way…" she said.

He stared at it for a while, not sure what to think.

"If you don't like it then I could always make you something else!" Ciel shook his head.

"No…this is perfect. Thank you." Celeste smiled in relief.

"If…if it's alright with you, I'd like to tell you what I want for my Christmas present…" Ciel cocked an eyebrow but nodded in consent.

Celeste took in a shaky breath and exhaled it before continuing.

"I'd like to leave the manor."

Everyone stared at her in shock.

"Leave the…manor…" Ciel repeated.

"O-of course not forever! I just want to go back to my hometown and visit my family!" she said quickly.

Ciel let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Oh…but you never mentioned having any family." Celeste shrugged and smiled, a hopeful expression on her face.

Ciel caved when he saw her hopeful expression. Sighing, he nodded his head in approval.

"Fine. But when will you leave and when will you be back?"

"I'll be back two days after Christmas and um…" Celeste looked down and fumbled with the edges of her skirt. "…I was hoping to leave first thing tomorrow morning…"

Ciel's eye widened.

"Why so early?"

"I-it's a two days trip from here b-by foot…"

Ciel let out a sigh.

"Okay. Then I shall have you taken there by carriage since it's faster."

"N-no!" Ciel raised an eyebrow at her sudden outburst. "I-I mean th-that, y-you don't have to go through all that trouble for me. A-and besides, th-the walking would do me good…"

"Bu—" Ciel started.

"Thank you." Celeste quickly cut him off. Clutching her hands to her chest, she gave him a heart-warming smile. "Thank you so much master. You have no idea how much this means to me!"

Ciel blushed at her smile.

"Ah…yeah…"

.

"Are you sure you won't take a carriage?" Finny asked the girl as he held her two suitcases, watching as she put on her coat, gloves, scarf, and hat.

"Mhm! No need to worry Finny, I'll be alright!" Celeste reassured him, taking the bags from him.

Finny frowned but nodded.

"Here you are, so you won't be too hungry." Sebastian said, handing her two chunks of bread.

"Oh, th-thank you Sebastian…" she took the bread and placed it in her pocket.

"Well…I guess I should be going now. Bye everyone! I'll see you soon!" with a quick bow and a small wave, she took off.

Everyone stood there and watched sadly as she left.

_**Two Days Later-**_

The mansion had been gloomy without the white-haired maid around.

Finny had been less cheerful, hardly cracking a smile, Mey-Rin did her chores only to look up every few seconds and sigh, missing the company and chatter the younger girl would bring. Bard would blow up the kitchen and then face the door, ready to reassure the younger girl that he was okay, only to sigh and look away from the door, remembering he wouldn't be seeing her worried face for a few days. Even Tanaka seemed down as he kept staring at the cup Celeste had given him, as he missed it when she would stop by to pour him more tea and talk to him before leaving to finish her tasks. Sebastian just missed her because other than him, she was the only competent servant and she was also useful in minimizing the amount of 'messes' the others would make.

Ciel stayed his office more often and would glance up at his door, every few minutes, or whenever someone came in, as if hoping to see Celeste come in, a smile on her face announcing that she was back, only to be disappointed and to glare at whomever walked into his office (namely, Sebastian). He didn't even go out to eat dinner in the dining room, choosing to eat it in his office. Whenever he did get out, he'd make sure to pass by the front door and stare at it for a few minutes, as if waiting for the girl to come through it.

Needless to say, their Christmas would not be all that cheerful.

On the second day of Celeste's absence, Sebastian had convinced Ciel to go outside for some fresh air. As Sebastian opened the door to lead him outside, they were stopped by the sight of the mail man.

"Ah! You're the butler I see e'ry day! An' you must be the master of the house! He-he! Celeste sure did describe you good!" the mail man said, smiling.

Ciel twitched.

"You know Celeste?"

"Yup! Oh! And speakin' of the little miss, since she's not here, I'm guessin' you allowed her to go back to her 'ometown?"

"So what if I did?" he snapped, peeved by the fact this man knew Celeste.

"Nothing! I'm just shocked you'd let her go after all with the murder that happened there and how the folks are now because of it."

"Murder?" Ciel asked, his interest peeked.

"Yep." The mail man nodded. "There was a murder a while back and e'er since it happened, the folks are just down right mean and suspicious of each other an' anyone who goes there! It was the 'hole reason my brother moved away! The poor souls though! My brother said that they were some nice people to! What were their names again...? I know it started with a 'D'…oh yeah! Now I remember! It was the Diamante family!"

Ciel's eye widened and Sebastian let his widen as well.

Without another word, Ciel dashed off with Sebastian following him, leaving a surprised mail man.

"Oi! What about your mail?!" he yelled after them.

He sighed and scratched his head.

"Oh well." He shrugged and placed the mail inside the mansion before turning around and leaving.

.

Celeste trudged tiredly into her hometown.

Many of the villagers had recognized her and sent her cold glares. She ignored it however, already used to it.

She reached the outskirts of the town, were her old house stood, badly in shambles and beyond repair. The house had decayed badly.

"I'm home…" pushing the door open, causing it to creak loudly.

She trudged past the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom, her room, not even glancing inside any of the rooms she passed them, and finally stopped at her parent's room.

"Mommy, Daddy, I'm home." She walked into the room as she said this and then collapsed onto her parent's old bed, kicking up dust as she fell on it. "I'm home."

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><p><strong>Gosh! 18 pages! *Dies* I swear…I'm going to have to take a break soon. But anyways, I'd like to take a quick second to thank all the people who Reviewed, Favorite-d, and Followed my story! It really means a lot to me! You're the reason I keep writing (especially those who take the time to Review!)! I already have 59 reviews and I'm not even a quarter of the way done!<strong>

…

**Even thinking about how much more I have to write makes me just want to fall over….not to mention my other stories….**

**Anyways! I hoped you enjoyed and Review please! ANNOUNCEMENT~: This may be the last update for a while because I'll be working more on my other stories since I sorta neglected them…I'm doing the same thing with them that I did this but since I have the next few chapters planned out for my other stories, it might go quickly, **_**might**_**, but don't expect anything for about a month or two.**

_**Review replies:**_

**luna midknight: I hope this was soon enough for you!**

**anna the viking XD: Don't worry. All will be revealed soon…I hope. But probably not knowing me. I hope this was soon enough for you and he does have one somewhere down there.**

**Masaki4everDead: I'm glad you like their moments and I couldn't either when I wrote it. I'm glad you thought it was cute though! I plan on revealing who 'he' is in the next 5-10 chapters (I don't know, could be more could be less, but hopefully in that range) and I hope this was soon enough for you!**

**xOxO Lost Angel OxOx: I'm glad you thought so and I hope this was soon enough for you!**

**GUNstalk: I'm glad you think so and I'm glad you followed your instincts too! I hope this was quick enough for you!**

**Thanks for the reviews I really appreciate it! I hope you enjoyed and keep up the reviews!**


	14. That Maid, Letting Go and Feelings

**Well! I'm back to updating this story! Though there might be slow updates because I'm gonna try to get the inspiration back for my Twilight fic…anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and sorry if my writing seems different, it has been a while since I wrote for this fic so just bear with me until I get back on track!**

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><p>Letting Go and Feelings<p>

Celeste woke up to the sun shining through the broken and dusty window.

She stretched and yawned before rubbing her eyes. She stopped suddenly, touching her cheek and finding that it was wet.

She smiled sadly.

She had been crying in her sleep.

"I really need to stop…mommy and daddy would be upset if they saw me crying like this." she mumbled, sliding off of the bed.

She shivered as the cold December breeze wafted in through the house. Her stomach then began to growl and she let out a soft giggle.

"I guess I should get something to eat…" she mumbled, walking out of the house and into town.

As she walked, many of the villagers threw her hateful glances, but Celeste continued to ignore them. When she finally reached the market part of the town, she headed towards bakery store.

The bakery owner was an old, pudgy man and he was known as one of the 'nicer' people left in the village.

When he noticed Celeste coming, his eyes grew wider, before narrowing into a glare.

"What the hell do you want?!" he snapped at her.

"I…I was ju-just wondering if you could sp-spare some br-bread…"

"Why the hell would I give you bread you filthy vermin!" he grabbed a loaf of bread and threw it at her, causing the poor girl to stumble backwards a little. "Get away! Go! Scram! Don't come back here! You little demon brat!"

Celeste nodded mutely, mumbling a small 'thank you' before running away.

.

She sat in the park on an old wooden swing, watching as children played.

She saw a few of her old friends playing a game of tag but knew that she could never join them, knowing that they would just run away from her.

Tears built up but she kept them at bay.

"Hm…?" Celeste looked by her foot and noticed that a ball was right by it.

She picked it up and looked up when she heard footsteps approaching her.

"I'll get it! I'll get it!" a little boy's voice yelled.

He had a big smile on his face, but when he saw Celeste holding the ball, his smile dropped and fear etched its way onto his face.

Celeste stood up and smiled at him, holding out the ball for him to take. The boy just continued to stare at her in terror.

"Here you go, this is yours right?" Celeste took a step closer to the boy, which only succeeded in him running away yelling.

"Ah~! The demon lady has the ball!" the child yelled, running back towards his friends who glanced up at Celeste, before turning on their heels and running away in fear.

Celeste dropped the ball and let her arms go limp at her sides.

She let out a sigh before dragging her feet back towards her old house.

.

Noticing that it was getting late, Celeste decided to go and visit her parent's graves.

She grabbed her flowers that she had picked when she was in the park and walked through the town to get to the graveyard.

No one was out, seeing as it was Christmas Eve, and that it was getting darker quicker than normal.

As she walked through the empty streets, the only noise being the soft crunch of snow beneath her feet, she felt the eyes of the villagers on her as they stared at her through the window.

She reached the graveyard and made her way towards her parent's graves.

"Hi mommy, hi daddy…" Celeste whispered, her voice cracking. "Merry Christmas Eve..."

She let out a soft sigh, but then began to smile, placing the flowers on both of their graves.

"There's no need to worry about me, I'm doing fine! I'm no longer living on the streets; I live in a big mansion now! Of course, I'm working there as a maid to Earl Ciel Phantomhive because I accidently ruined his outfit with my breakfast, but, I really enjoy living there! I've met a lot of interesting people!" Celeste began to tell her parents about the people she had met when all of a sudden, she heard drunken shouting.

Quickly glancing over her shoulder, Celeste noted that it was the village drunk who was heading her way, a beer bottle in his hand.

"Who'e ou' tear huh? He slurred coming closer to her.

Celeste quickly dashed behind her father's grave, hoping that the man hadn't seen her, but of course, she didn't seem to have that much fortune.

"Ey…is tha devil girl! Wha tha fuck ya doin her?" Celeste flinched but didn't reply.

"You lil bitch! How dare you no answer ma!" the man slammed his beer bottle on her mother's tombstone, splattering glass and beer everywhere, before reaching around her father's grave and taking hold of her arm.

"Let go! Please let go of me!" Celeste cried as she struggled in his grip.

"Stupi' lil bitch! I'll teach you ta ignore ma!" he growled out, raising the bottle over his head.

"Oh please! Oh please no!" she yelled, struggling harder.

He gave her a twisted grin.

"Don worry, no 'ne ill miss you! 'ow go join ya parents in hell!" he yelled, swinging the bottle down.

Celeste braced herself for the impact of the blow, but it never came.

She cracked open her eyes and looked up, only to gasp in shock.

"Seba…Sebastian?!" Sebastian was gripping the struggling man's arm and when he heard Celeste call out to him, he smiled and looked down at her.

"Hello Celeste. You seem to be alright."

"Ye-yes…I'm fine…" she answered back, backing away from the drunken man who had let her go during his struggle against the butler.

"If I had known there were vermin like this here who would try to attack you, I would've never agreed into letting you come here." Celeste watched in shock as Ciel walked up to the three of them.

"Ma-master Phantomhive!" she exclaimed.

Ciel merely glanced at her before returning his eyes back to the drunken man and Sebastian.

"Sebastian, you know what to do."

"Yes, my lord." Sebastian bowed as much as he could, then began to drag the drunken man away from the two teens.

Silence crept over the two as Celeste fidgeted as she watched Ciel, who was staring intently at her parent's tombstones.

"Um…ma—"

"Why?"

"Huh…?"

"Why did you come back here when you know stuff like that could, no, _would _happen to you?!"

Celeste flinched at Ciel's angry tone, lowering her head instinctively.

"I-it's because…my parents are here—"

"You're parents are dead!"

"I know that!" Celeste yelled back, looking up to stare Ciel dead in his eye.

Ciel took a step back.

He watched as anger flashed in her grey eyes and made her body tremble.

He had never seen her angry before, and this shocked him.

"I know that they are dead! I know! But…even with knowing how the townspeople treat me…coming back here is the only way I can remember them! Every year…every year I can feel myself beginning to forget them…forget how they look like, and coming back here is the only way…the only way I can fill this aching hole in my chest that burns with this unbearable pain of loneliness…loneliness in knowing that there is no one else out there…that I have no other family…" Celeste looked down; body no longer shaking from rage, but from sadness.

Ciel stared at her for a long moment before sighing and replying.

"You're not the only one you know…who has no one else. Who's all alone. I know what you're going through."

"_No you don't!_" Ciel stared wide-eyed at Celeste who had suddenly looked up and was actually _glaring _at him. "You don't know at all! You…you claim that you know what I'm going through, that you know how I feel, but you don't! You have Lady Elizabeth, Lord Edward, Marchioness Middleford and her husband…you even had Madam Red before she died! You have a family! A family that cares about you! So don't try to tell me that you know how I feel, because you may have lost your parents, Master Phantomhive, but you have a _family_! A family who love and care about you very much! You don't know…you don't know what I would _give _to have a family like you do! You're so lucky and you don't even realize it! It's not fair! _**It's just not fair!**_"

Ciel held up his arms to cover his face as a violent wind suddenly blew and nearly knocked him off his feet. Celeste sunk to her knees and buried her face in her hands, beginning to cry.

"Erk…Celeste!" said girl didn't look up as she wept, and it seemed the more she wept, the more powerful the wind became.

Ciel slowly made his way over to the girl, having to hold onto the tombstones to allow him to move closer to her without being pushed back by the wind.

"Celeste!" Ciel grabbed her and pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her.

It seemed as if as soon as he did that, the wind began to die down.

"It's…just not…fair…I hate coming here…and being called a… a demon lady…or a demon brat…all because…my family was…was…in such a horrible way…" she couldn't even get the word 'murdered' out, but she didn't need too. Ciel knew exactly what she wanted to, but couldn't, say.

"It's…okay…" Ciel murmured out, an aching pain in his chest as the girl continued to cry.

He held her until she passed out from exhaustion.

"Young Master, I've disposed of that man. Shall we get going now?" Sebastian asked as he walked up to the two teens.

"Let's go home." Ciel said, getting up once Sebastian had Celeste in his arms.

They reached the carriage and Sebastian placed Celeste into it, before helping Ciel into it.

Sebastian raised a brow as he watched Ciel lift up the unconscious girl's head, who was laying on the seat, sit down, and then laid her head on his lap.

"Are you ready to go young master?"

"Kill them."

"…Huh…?" Sebastian stared quizzically at his master who stared down at the girl in his lap.

"Kill them, the townspeople. Kill them all. Give them a real look at a demon."

Sebastian's eyebrow rose, but he nodded mutely all the same and bowed, closing the carriage door and leaving to do his masters biding.

Ciel continued to stare at the sleeping girl, feeling many emotions sweep through him

When he had saw that drunken man try to attack her, Ciel had felt indescribable rage that only increased when he learned that Celeste knew what they would say and do to her and also what they called her.

He felt so angry, but at the same time, he felt relieved. He felt relieved that she was okay, that they had saved her before any (physical) harm could be done to her.

Ciel swept a piece of her bang from in front of her eyes and frowned softly.

"Idiot…even in knowing what would happen…you would still come back anyways…and then have the nerve to talk back to me…" Ciel began running his fingers through her hair, his chest constricting painfully as he stared at her tear stained face.

A million thoughts, all involving his white haired maid, swirled in his head. Most of his thoughts were involving how relieved and actually…almost…_grateful_ he was that she was safe.

And with these thoughts swirling through his head, he was forced to recognize something that he had been denying, that he had been dismissing. A thought, a feeling that he didn't want to acknowledge.

He, Ciel Phantomhive, actually _cared_ about someone, other than himself, other than his goals and his plans. He cared about her, Celeste, and he was actually, though he'd never admit it, kind of scared that he did care about her because that meant, he actually grew _attached _to someone, something he promised himself that he'd never do again…and yet…the girl who was sleeping on his lap had somehow squirmed her way into his locked away heart. No one, not even Elizabeth, his fiancée, had been able to do that.

However, what scared him the most was that deep down, he actually didn't mind the fact that she had squirmed into his heart.

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><p><strong>Okay, so I was originally going to make this longer but then I thought this was good enough. Don't worry though, I'll have the next chapter up soon since I'm planning on dishing it out within the next two weeks.<strong>

_**Review replies:**_

**Paxloria: who Esmeralda is will be revealed shortly, as well as what happened to her parents, just wait a bit longer please:)**

**anna the viking: I understand, I get like that as well. And see, Ciel went after her, so you don't have to hurt him!**

**tohru15: I'm glad you enjoyed it! And the next chapter should be out within the next two weeks.**

**xOxO Lost Angel OxOx: I'm glad you liked it and happy (very) belated holidays to you as well!**

**Rea-chan: I'm glad you love the pairing!**

**xxHiMExx: I try to but it turns out to be once every two months at times**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and review please! Till next time~**


	15. That Maid, Kidnapping and Reunions

**Here's the next installment of this fic! Hope you enjoy this chapter=)**

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><p>Kidnapping and Reunions<p>

Golden brown eyes scanned the cemetery as the owner of said eyes was perched on a tombstone.

"She was here…" the woman muttered, letting out a sigh.

Her eyes than narrowed into slits as she stared at the burned remains of the town.

"And so was a demon." Esmeralda jumped off the tombstone, a frown marring her face. "That is it! I do not care if I alert any demonic being in this vicinity that I am here; I have to get to her!" Esmeralda concentrated and let her power flare out, searching for Celeste.

After a few seconds, her eyes snapped open and she took off in the direction in which she felt the girl's energy.

'_I have to get to her! There's a demon with her!'_

.

Celeste blinked her eyes open groggily, noticing that she was back in her room in the mansion. She shot up and tumbled out of bed, quickly changing out of her night gown (wondering who changed her into it) and into her maid uniform, before bolting out of her room and into the main room.

As she ran into it, she noticed that everyone was there, and when they saw her, they all (meaning Bard, Mey-Rin, and Finny) smiled and yelled: "Merry Christmas, Celeste!"

Celeste blinked in shock as she stared at them.

"Huh…?"

"It's Christmas day silly!" Finny exclaimed, pulling the girl into the room. "The young master suggested this, so we got this ready last night after you came home!"

"Master…Phantomhive…did…?" she questioned, glancing at Ciel.

They locked eyes for a second, before they both blushed and looked away. Celeste because she remembered what she had said to him the other day; and Ciel because of his new found revelation that he actually cared for the girl.

"C'mon Celeste! I've got your present!" Finny exclaimed as he dragged the girl towards the tree.

Finny picked up a present and handed it to her. Celeste smiled and unwrapped the present to find a leather bound book with an assortment of flowers pressed onto the pages.

Celeste's eyes widened as she gasped.

"Wow…Finny…thank you so much! I absolutely love it!" she cried, flinging her arms around the gardener, hugging him.

Said gardener blushed, hugging the girl back.

Ciel watched on bitterly, resentment for his gardener growing with each second.

Finally, they broke apart and Celeste accepted gifts from everyone else. Everyone else…except Ciel.

Though she was happy with what she got from everyone, beyond happy, she couldn't help the twinge of disappointment and sadness invade her heart when she didn't get a gift from Ciel.

However, she shook off the feeling and happily enjoyed the festivities.

.

Halfway through their little party, Celeste noticed that Ciel had left. So, she snuck out as well and headed towards his office, figuring that's where he would be.

.

Celeste knocked on Ciel's office door and was awarded with a curt 'come in'.

"E-excuse me…Master Phantomhive…" Celeste said as she walked into his office.

Ciel whirled around on his heel and looked at her in shock, his eye wide.

He honestly hadn't been expecting her. He was staring at a small, wrapped up box in his hands when she had knocked. He had thought that it was Sebastian, coming to check on him, so when he had heard Celeste's voice, he was thoroughly surprised.

"W-what is it?" he asked, quickly hiding the small box behind his back.

Celeste walked further into the room until she was about three feet away and then bowed deeply.

"I am so very sorry about what I said yesterday!"

"Wha…?" Ciel just stared at her.

"I…I was out of line, so I'm very sorry!"

It was quiet for a minute, before Ciel let out a sigh, running his fingers through his hair.

"No…don't apologize…you…you were right…" it was Celeste's turn to stare in surprise.

"Master Phantomhive…"

"Ciel."

"Huh…?"

Ciel let out a soft sigh, coughing a bit to clear his throat as he felt his cheeks warm up slightly.

"Call me, Ciel."

Celeste blinked, before a slow, soft smile lit up her face.

"Ciel…thank you." She flushed a bit at the fact that she was using his first name.

Ciel's cheeks heated up even more as he snapped at her.

"Wh-why are you thanking me?!"

"Be-because…you…for you just being you." Ciel blushed harder.

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?!"

"I-it was a compliment!"

Silence befell them as they stood there awkwardly.

"Well, um…I-I guess I should go—"

"Wait!" Celeste stopped moving away and glanced up at the boy.

Ciel fidgeted a bit, glancing over his shoulder at the box in his hand, before steeling his nerves and facing Celeste once more.

"H-here! Merry Christmas!" Ciel thrust the box at her and Celeste blinked as she took the box from him, eyeing it curiously.

Unwrapping it, she opened the black box and gasped at what she saw.

Inside the black box was a chocker with a Turquoise, her birthstone, the color of the sky, on it, and it was slightly translucent. The ribbon was a navy blue, nearly black, color and the edges were trimmed with black lace.

Ciel had found the chocker when he had gone out the day after Celeste's birthday. He had seen it and had immediately thought how nice it would look on Celeste and how the stone was also her birth stone.

He had, of course, shook the thought out of his head, but he still had gone into the store and bought it.

"Oh…" she gasped, before blinking and then slamming the box closed and thrusting it back at Ciel. "I-I can't take this!"

"Huh…? Why not?!" Ciel demanded.

"Be-because! It's way too expensive! I don't deserve something like this!"

"I'm giving it to you as a gift! Are you really going to deny my gift?!"

Celeste flinched.

"Bu-but…" she was silenced by his glare.

Sighing, she pulled back her out stretched hands and opened the box again, staring at the chocker.

"Thank you…thank you so much…" her voice was a mere whisper and Ciel had to strain his ears to hear her.

Clearing his throat, Ciel asked: "Do…do you want me too…too put it on for you…?"

Celeste looked up at him, her cheeks flaming red, but she nodded all the same.

Ciel took the necklace out of the box and Celeste turned around so that he could put it on her. Ciel put the chocker on her and felt his heart quicken at their close proximity.

Celeste also felt her heart quicken at their close proximity. She could feel Ciel's breathe on her neck and it caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up.

Stepping back, Ciel told her that he had finished.

Celeste turned around and fingered the necklace a soft smile on her face as her cheeks flushed red from happiness and embarrassment.

"Thank you very much…Ciel." Ciel blushed and mumbled incoherently.

Celeste giggled a bit at this. Throwing her head back a little, she opened her eyes and abruptly stopped laughing, her eyes widening in shock and horror. Ciel stared at her before glancing up as well, only for his expression to mimic hers.

There, hanging from the ceiling unnoticed, was a mistletoe.

They both lowered their heads to look at each other at the same time. They stared at one another for a bit, but then began to blush.

"We…we do not have to…to you know…" Ciel trailed off, not being able to get the word 'kiss' out.

"B-but it's tradition!" before she knew what was coming out of her mouth, Celeste had said that, and when the words she had said finally registered in her head, she blushed and clamped her hand over her mouth.

Ciel stared at her in surprise.

He had never expected her to say that.

"Wh-what I mean, um, i-is that, um…" she stuttered, trying to get the right words out.

Smirking, Ciel stepped closer to her, effectively invading the girls space, causing her to quiet down.

"You're right…it _is _tradition."

Ciel cupped her face with both hands and bent down to kiss her, his eyes sliding shut.

Celeste's eyes shone with anticipation as Ciel cupped her face and began to lean towards her, his eyes sliding shut. Celeste's own eyes became lidded as she slid them shut, anticipation building up inside of her.

He was about to kiss her, they both could feel how close they were, when suddenly they were interrupted by a knock on Ciel's door.

Both teens jumped back from each other, startled out of their trance like state. They blinked, coming out of their fog, and stared at each other straight in the eye(s)

After a short pause, their faces heated up, making their faces turn a bright, bold red.

Celeste turned on her heel and ran out of the door, nearly colliding into Sebastian. Not even stopping to apologize like she normally would, Celeste kept her head down and kept running.

Sebastian stared at her with an eyebrow raised, noticing her red ears. He turned back around in order to address his master, but was startled to find Ciel turned around, his back facing the demon butler.

"What is it?" Ciel snapped curtly.

Sebastian smirked as he noticed his masters red ears. Glancing up and noticing the mistletoe, his smirked turned devilish.

'_Ah…it would seem that my plan worked…'_

.

"Mey-Rin."

"Ye-yes Mister Sebastian?" Mey-Rin asked, her face turning red.

"Please go do the laundry." Sebastian replied, an indifferent expression on his face.

"Ye-yes!" Mey-Rin squeaked out, scurrying away from the man.

.

Mey-Rin walked towards the manors front door cautiously. She had been on her way to do the laundry when she heard a knock. She wondered who would be wondering around at this time of night and in that weather as well. It was raining hard as well as thundering and lightning, not to mention that the wind was very strong and you could hear it howling even from indoors. Opening the doors cautiously, Mey-Rin stuck her head out and looked. When she saw the person standing outside, she gasped.

Standing in front of her had to be the most beautiful women she had ever seen. This woman had silvery-grey hair that reached her waist, golden-brown eyes, a heart-shaped face and she had full, red lips that were curved into a warm smile. She was wearing a brown button up coat that was fitted to her waist, showing off her curvy body and well-endowed chest, and then puffed out and reached to the middle of her calves and a matching brown hat atop her head. From what peeked out from under her coat, Mey-Rin saw she had on a sky blue dress with matching heels. The woman was carrying a briefcase which she gripped in front of her with both hands.

"Hello." The woman greeted.

"H-h-hello!" Mey-Rin stuttered out, blushing.

The woman only giggled a bit. "I'm sorry to bother you so late but I was wondering if you could let me stay here, at least until the morning. I just wish for some shelter from this rain."

Mey-Rin just stared at her blankly.

"Um…excuse me…?" the woman asked, tilting her head to the side.

"O-oh! Y-yes! P-please come in!" the woman smiled and stepped inside the mansion, her clothes dripping water onto the dry floor.

"Um…I-I just have to ask my master so please wait here a moment," Mey-Rin said, closing the door behind the woman and then ran up the steps to go inform her master of their guest.

The woman just smiled at Mey-Rin's flustered reaction and giggled to herself.

Mey-Rin tripped over herself countless times until she reached Ciel's office. She knocked on the door and entered when she heard him utter a 'come in'. Mey-Rin opened the door and bowed hastily.

"What is it, Mey-Rin?" Ciel asked, looking up from his stack of papers.

Mey-Rin blushed when she noticed Sebastian was there as well. "Um…th-there is a wo-woman asking to spend the night here,"

Ciel raised an eyebrow at this and sighed. Even if the woman was no doubt a commoner, it would still ruin his reputation if word got out that he turned this woman away. Ciel groaned as he rubbed his forehead.

"Well, what should we do young master?" Sebastian asked, enjoying seeing the sight of his agitated master.

Ciel glared at him and got up. "I suppose we have no choice. Sebastian, prepare a room for our guest and Mey-Rin, go inform her that she is—" he was cut off by the sound of a feminine scream.

Ciel's eye widened as he rushed out of the room, along with Mey-Rin and Sebastian. He knew that scream. That scream belonged to Celeste.

.

Celeste walked with a bounce in her step towards the kitchen, humming cheerfully, as she carried a stack of dishes. She passed by the front door of the manor and stopped once she heard a voice.

"Oh my! Look how much you've grown, Celeste!"

Celeste's eyes widened as she slowly turned towards the voice. She _knew_ that voice. She knew it. But no…it couldn't be…

She gasped and dropped the plates as she stared at the woman. She stared at the woman for a few more seconds before she let out an ear piercing scream.

Celeste fainted from the shear pain she had felt, but before she hit the floor, the woman caught her.

"I'm sorry for hurting you, Celeste, but I need you to go to sleep for a bit…" the woman whispered softly.

.

Ciel ran towards the main staircase, with Sebastian and Mey-Rin behind him. He paused and gaped at what he saw.

There was a white haired woman with golden brown eyes, packing Celeste's unconscious body into a suitcase.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he yelled.

The woman looked up at him and narrowed her eyes, hissing at them; before she quickly slammed the suitcase closed and ran off, taking Celeste with her.

"Stop!" Ciel yelled, running after her, his other two servants behind him. "Mey-Rin, you gather Bard and Finny and guard the manor in case there are any more intruders! Sebastian and I will go after Celeste!" Ciel ordered.

Mey-Rin nodded and quickly ran off to find the other two servants.

"Let's go, Sebastian!" Sebastian nodded, picking his master up bridal style, and sprinting off after the white haired woman.

They caught up to her quickly, though Ciel still had to wonder how it was the woman was able to outrun Sebastian—a demon. Sebastian quickly threw knives that he had hidden in his coat, and they pierced the woman's dress, and sunk into the ground, trapping her.

The woman stopped running and glowered at Ciel and Sebastian.

"What do you think you are doing you filthy demon?" the woman snarled, glaring at Sebastian.

"That should be my question, Ms. _Angel_."

The woman's eyes flashed menacingly.

"What are you doing with Celeste?" Ciel demanded, glaring at the woman.

She scoffed, glaring at the boy. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Ciel bristled at that and was about to reply when Sebastian cut him off.

"Excuse me young master, but it would seem as if this lady is not going to answer us without force." Sebastian set Ciel down, and then faced the woman, a devilish smirk on his face.

The woman growled, narrowing her eyes at him. "Sorry, but—" she unfurled her wings, scowling. "I don't have time to play with you." She flew off, ripping her dress in the process, and began to speed away.

Sebastian's smirk grew, his eyes flashing with interest. "Golden wings, huh? That must mean that you are a fighter angel…how interesting…" scooping up Ciel again, he took off after the woman.

"It's rare to see you're class of angel down here. Tell me…what's a fighter angel like you doing all the way down here?" Sebastian asked her as he continuously threw knives at her.

"What I am doing here is of no concern of yours." Was her sharp reply as she dodged the knives.

"It is since you do have possession of the Phantomhive's maid." Sebastian retorted as he threw another knife.

This knife however, was not aimed at the angel, but at the suitcase that held an unconscious Celeste.

Before the blade could pierce the suitcase, the woman managed to block it, but in the process, the knife pierced her hand, causing her to hiss in pain and to let go of the suitcase.

As if in slow motion, Ciel watched as the suitcase fell from the sky and opened up, causing the unconscious girl in it to go tumbling out.

"Celeste!" both Ciel and the woman yelled.

Sebastian, with Ciel in his arms, rushed to capture her, but the angel got to her first by using the whip, that she had been hiding, to wrap around Celeste's waste and pull her back up to her. While she was distracted, Sebastian threw a knife at her that pierced her right where her wing connected to her shoulder.

The woman let out a cry as she plummeted back down and slammed into Earth.

Ciel and Sebastian rushed up to her as she slowly staggered to her feet, blocking them from reaching Celeste who was a few meters behind the woman.

"It would seem that I hit a weak point…or is it because of the fact that you're tired out from fighting other demons." Sebastian hadn't noticed it at first, but now he could smell multiple demon scents surrounding her.

Sebastian kept advancing on her, placing Ciel down as he did.

"I'll never…let you get…to her…" she panted out, glaring at Sebastian. "You'll have to go…over my…dead body…"

Sebastian smirked sinisterly.

"That can be arranged…" he chuckled as his eyes began to glow.

"KYAAAAAHHH!" everyone froze as they looked at Celeste who began to scream.

Said girl was curled up in a fetal position and was screaming in agony.

"What did you do to her?!" Ciel demanded as he rushed to Celeste's side.

"It's not me; it's that demon of yours! His energy is hurting her!" she yelled over Celeste's screams.

"Celeste! Celeste! Celeste, can you hear me!?" Ciel demanded as he grabbed the shivering girl.

"Es…Esmer…Esmeralda…" Celeste whimpered out.

"I'm right here sweetie, I'm right here." The woman, who Sebastian and Ciel now knew was Esmeralda, cooed soothingly as she rushed over to the girl.

"I…I missed…you…" Celeste wheezed out, opening her eyes a little and reaching out to Esmeralda.

Grasping her hand, Esmeralda sent her a soft smile.

"I missed you too."

"Why…why did you go…go away…?"

"Don't worry sweetie, I'm never leaving you again."

Celeste smiled a bit as her eyes began to close again.

"Good…" she whispered as she passed back out.

"Don't worry, Celeste. I'll never leave you alone again." Esmeralda whispered as she stroked the unconscious girl's hair.

"Though you say that, I do believe that you owe us an explanation." Ciel said as he looked Esmeralda.

Esmeralda narrowed her eyes at Ciel.

"He is right—I do hope you did not believe that you could get away with Celeste." Esmeralda's eyes flashed as she hissed at Sebastian, reminding him of a feral, wild cat.

"I had heard fighter angels where feisty…I guess that is true…"

"You are just lucky I'm not at full strength, or I would have disposed of you already." Esmeralda sneered.

Sebastian just chuckled.

"Young master…why don't we take this conversation back to the mansion?" Sebastian suggested.

Both men glanced at the angel who just let out an irritated huff.

"Fine…even if I did refuse, with the state I am in, there is no way I could defeat your demon." Esmeralda said, getting up.

Sebastian smirked.

"A wise choice M'Lady."

Esmeralda just rolled her eyes and huffed.

"Damn demon…"

* * *

><p><strong>So…how was it? I was going to make it longer but, I figured this was as good a place as any to end it. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it!<strong>

_**Review replies:**_

**Doll with No brain: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and here's that update! **

**Paxloria: I'm glad you liked it and…are you reading my mind o.0? because I totally saw that happening between the two of themXD**

**PrincessLinnyBinny: I'm glad you like the story and the pairing, and I hope this was a quick enough update!**

**VampireSiren: That was one my favorite parts as well!**

**Anna the Viking: I hope this was a quick enough update, and I hope you liked the mistletoe part!**

**Thanks to everyone who Reviewed, Favorite-d, and Followed my story! Don't forget to review! Until the next chapter! Bye!**


	16. That Maid, Preview2

**So, this is just a little preview to hold you over until I finish writing the next chapter, which I'll try to post within the next week. So…enjoy!**

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><p>Preview~<p>

Esmeralda walked over to Sebastian, an annoyed look on her face.

"Why did you do that?" she demanded, irritation in her voice.

"Do what?" he asked innocently, his signature smile on his face.

"Why did you chase him out of the kitchen like that? He was trying to help me…unlike _you_." She spat out, glaring at the demon in hatred and disdain.

"Because…" he started; his smile growing "I don't like anyone touching what belongs to me." In a flash, his hand reached out and grabbed her waist, pulling her towards him.

Esmeralda gasped as she looked up at him, his red eyes turning into a purple-pinkish color while his pupil's turned into slits. He gave her a devilish smile.

Esmeralda stared into his swirling eyes for a moment, in a trance, before snapping out of it and shoving him away.

"I am _not _yours! Never would I _ever_ belong to a _filthy, vile, disgusting _demon like you!" she hissed, her eyes beginning to glow a bit.

Sebastian chuckled; his own eyes began to glow a little brighter.

"I don't know about that…I'm pretty sure the mark on your back," he reached out and wound his arm around her and touched her back. Esmeralda flinched at his touch which caused Sebastian to smile. "Says differently."

Esmeralda growled at him and stepped away from him quickly.

"I'm warning you demon, you'd better keep your filthy hands away from me!" she hissed and turned on her heel, heading out the kitchen.

Sebastian's demonic eyes filled with mirth as he watched her slam the kitchen door closed; a smirk on his face.

"I'm sorry…but that just won't do, because I don't 'keep my filthy hands away' from what's mine."

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><p><strong>So…I hope you enjoyed this preview! I'll be hopefully getting the next chapter out soon.<strong>


	17. That Maid, Flashbacks

**Hey~ so, I'm sorry about the long wait but life has just been busy and hectic so I haven't gotten around to writing, but here it is! The next installment of AIADA! I know that it may be a little sucky, but enjoy!**

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><p>Flashbacks<p>

Celeste's grey eyes fluttered open, only to be met with golden brown ones.

"Esmeralda!" Celeste cried with joy, launching herself at the woman.

"Oh Celeste! I've missed you so much!" Esmeralda cried, hugging the girl tightly.

"Please tell me you are going to stay! Please! I don't want to lose you again!" Celeste pleaded, sobbing slightly.

"Shh…there there…I'm not going anywhere. I will never leave you again…" Esmeralda murmured into the young girl's hair.

Celeste pulled away slightly, only enough to glance up at the older woman.

"Good." She stated with a cheeky grin. "Because I wouldn't let you leave…at least not without me!"

Esmeralda chuckled at the girl and shook her head.

"Well, do not worry; I am now a maid here! So I won't be going anywhere!" Celeste stared at her in shock.

"Really?!"

"Really." Celeste cheered and hugged the woman once more.

Esmeralda giggled softly, hugging the girl close to her.

They stayed in that position for a while, until a knock on the door interrupted them.

"Come in!" Celeste said.

The door opened and in walked Sebastian and Ciel.

Esmeralda noticeably stiffened at the sight of the two, her eyes narrowing as she glared at them. Sebastian just sent her a pleasant smile, while Ciel just ignored her.

"Celeste…I see you are up. How do you feel?" Ciel asked the girl.

"Oh! Um…I feel…I feel fine." Celeste told him, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"That's good…" Ciel trailed off, an awkward silence settling in between them.

"Um…th-thank you for allowing Esme to become a nurse here…I really appreciate it." Celeste stated, a happy smile on her face.

Ciel blushed.

"I-I didn't do it for you! I-I just thought…thought that we could use a-a little extra help around the manor!" Ciel stuttered out, his face heating up.

Esmeralda narrowed her eyes at the boy, then locked eyes with Sebastian, who merely smirked, both remembering their earlier conversation.

**(A/N: just so you know, the first two flashbacks take place the night before.)**

_-Flashback-_

Esmeralda sighed as she walked out of Ciel's office.

'_Nosy demon, nosy child!'_ she thought, letting out an irritated huff.

"The young master deeply cares for Celeste, so that is why he is so bent on knowing what it is you want with her." Sebastian stated, as he and Esmeralda walked to her new room.

"I realize this…but it has nothing to do with you two."

"I beg to differ. My master cares for the girl, more than anyone else, and he does not want to see her hurt, so he'll do all of that he can to protect her. And, as he feels he has to protect her, I have to protect him, so in that way, yes, it does have to do with us."

Esmeralda sighed in annoyance.

"Yes…I can sense the fact that he cares about her greatly, and I know that Celeste cares about him as well, but he is contracted to you, and I know that when whatever he wants has been fulfilled, you shall take his soul and in that, Celeste will be hurt. That is why I want you two to stay out of this."

Sebastian chuckled.

"Oh trust me…she'll be hurt long before then."

"What do you mean…?" Esmeralda asked him reproachfully, an eyebrow raised.

"Those two like each other, as more than just friends, though they have yet to realize this themselves. However, my master is already betrothed. And I'm not sure if he would ever break his engagement."

"Then that's more of a reason for you two to stay out of this." Esmeralda stated, just as the two reached her new room, which was conveniently placed right next to Celeste's room.

"Well this a shock…" Esmeralda mumbled underneath her breath.

"What is?" Sebastian asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I never thought that I would ever have an almost civil conversation with a demon." She clarified.

Sebastian smirked.

"And never would I have thought that I would have an almost civil conversation with a Power Archangel."

A silence settled between the two until Esmeralda decided to break it.

"But I still despise you." She stated, turning on her heel and walking into her room, slamming the door closed behind her.

Sebastian's smirk grew.

'_Such an interesting creature…'_ he thought, turning around and walking away.

_-Flashback End-_

"Celeste, once you are dressed, report to my office immediately." Ciel ordered the girl.

Celeste nodded.

"Okay!"

Esmeralda just rolled her eyes, and in catching this, Ciel frowned and glared at her, still ticked off at her from their earlier conversation.

_-Flashback-_

After putting Celeste into her room and tucking her into bed; Ciel, Sebastian, and Esmeralda walked into Ciel's office.

"So…Esmeralda was it? What is it exactly that you want with Celeste?" Ciel asked the woman after he had sat down.

He kept a cool and calm demeanor on the outside, but on the inside, he was in a rage. He just wanted to order Sebastian to kill the women, but he knew Celeste would not be happy about that.

"That is none of your business." Esmeralda stated sharply, glaring at him.

Ciel bristled, but kept his cool. Sebastian just smirked as he watched the exchange of heated glares.

"There must be a reason for you coming here and trying to kidnap Celeste, and since it happened on my property and to _my _maid, it is my business." Ciel said, just as sharply.

"It does not concern you in the slightest, so mind your own business." Esmeralda snapped, hissing a bit, like a cat.

A tense silence filled the room, until Ciel let out a sigh.

"Fine. Don't tell me. But I will find out eventually."

Esmeralda just scoffed and rolled her eyes, earning her a glare from Ciel and a smirk from Sebastian.

"Since I cannot have you here, running around freely, I shall employ you as our new maid." Ciel stated firmly, his voice leaving no room for argument.

"_Excuse me?!_ There is no way I will be a maid!" Esmeralda stated, appalled.

Ciel just gave her a smirk.

"If you do not agree to becoming my maid, I shall have Sebastian remove you from my home, by force if necessary, and I'll make it so that you'll never see Celeste again, understood?"

Esmeralda bristled, her golden brown eyes brightening a bit, before she finally relaxed after looking over at Sebastian who smiled sinisterly at her, his eyes glowing a pinkish-purple color.

"…_Fine_…" she grumbled bitterly, her eyes losing their glow. "I'll become your maid."

"Good." Ciel said, a smirk plastered on his face. "You shall start your duties tomorrow. Sebastian will show you to your room."

Esmeralda shot him a glare and huffed. She turned on her heel and marched out the office door, which Sebastian held open for her.

Sebastian just chuckled and followed her out, bowing to Ciel before closing the door.

_-Flashback end-_

Ciel and Sebastian walked out of the room, leaving Celeste to get ready.

"Well…I have to start my chores, so I shall see you later." Esmeralda said, sighing and getting up to leave the room.

Celeste nodded and waved good-bye to her, and once she was gone, Celeste got up to get dressed.

.

Celeste knocked on the door to Ciel's office and once she was granted permission to go in, she walked in.

"You wanted to see me…?" she asked.

"Ah…yeah..." Ciel said, looking up from his paper work.

A silence settled between them, until Ciel cleared his throat and started talking.

"So…Esmeralda…what is she to you?" he finally got out.

"She…she was my nanny." Celeste answered.

"Was this during when your parents were alive or…?"

"It was during when they were alive, but she left a month before my parents were…were…you know…"Celeste answered him, biting her lip and looking down at the floor.

"Why did she leave?"

Celeste shrugged.

"She never told me…she only told me that she had to leave…this is the first time I've seen her ever since she left."

It grew quiet once again, until Ciel finally asked her the question that had been bugging him ever since they had come back from Celeste's hometown.

"Are you not mad?"

Celeste looked up and gave him a quizzical look.

"What for?"

"For the circumstances you were put under,"

"I'm still not sure what you mean…"

"Are you not angry that you were forced to fend for yourself at a young age all because someone decided to murder your parents?!" he demanded, growing frustrated.

Celeste shook her head.

"Not at all."

"But haven't you ever thought of-" as if sensing what he was going to say, she interrupted him, a soft, whimsical smile on her face.

"Ahh, my dear Master Phantomhive. You see, that is where you are wrong. Didn't anyone ever tell you that revenge solves nothing?"

Ciel just stared at her blankly.

"Ciel…while revenge is sweet and very tempting, whatever you have lost will never come back. And in seeking revenge against the person who wronged you, you may feel satisfied for a short period of time, but ultimately, you will only feel bitterness. The best way to avoid such emotions is to accept what has happened and to move on with your life."

A long silence stretched between them.

"If…if that is all…then I'll just leave…" Celeste murmured, walking out of the room, leaving Ciel to ponder what she said.

.

Celeste walked into the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast and found that all the servants, save for Sebastian, were still there.

"Good morning!" she chirped.

The three bumbling servant's heads shot up when they heard her. They smiled in relief and happiness, launching their selves at her.

"Celeste! You're okay~!" they cried hugging her.

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, confused.

The three servants shared a look while Esmeralda hid a small smirk.

She knew Celeste wouldn't remember the fight, seeing as the girl was knocked out, she would only remember seeing her before the fight and after the fight.

"Celeste, we are cleaning the library together, so once you have eaten, let's go, okay?"

"M'kay!" she replied, grabbing two pieces of toast and eating it.

The two then left, and as Esmeralda closed the door behind them, she sent them all an endearing smile.

She knew they still didn't trust her, even when she was introduced as a member of the staff.

_-Flashback-_

Esmeralda sighed as she left Celeste's room to start her chores.

"Esmeralda." Esmeralda jumped when she heard Sebastian's voice.

Looking up at him, she scowled.

"Don't hide your presence like that!" Sebastian just sent her a smirk, enjoying making her uncomfortable.

"You should be properly introduced to the other servants of the house hold." He said, turning and walking away, not even checking to see if she was following him.

Esmeralda huffed but followed him anyways.

They walked next to each other in silence until they reached the kitchen door. Sebastian opened the door and allowed her to go in first. When Mey-Rin, Finny, and Bard saw her, they immediately grabbed their weapons and got into a fighting stance. Mey-Rin with one hand-held gun in each hand, Finny with an empty barrel, and Bard with a large kitchen knife.

"No need for that. Starting from today, Ms. Esmeralda will be a maid here." Sebastian said as he walked into the room.

The three servants exchanged weary glances, before lowering and putting away their weapons.

"I look forward to working with you!" she told them, giving them a disarming smile.

The servants returned her smile with a shaky one of their own.

"Okay, enough chit chat, here is the schedule for today." Sebastian said, interrupting them.

_-Flashback End-_

'_Though I'm not fond of the fact I have to be in the same vicinity as a demon, at least I can protect Celeste.'_ Esmeralda thought as she and Celeste grabbed the cleaning supplies and went to the library.

"Oh no! I forgot something! You can go inside Esme, I'll be right back!" Celeste told her, running down the hall back towards the supply room.

Esmeralda watched her go, before she sighed and walked into the library.

"Oh great…you're here…" Esmeralda muttered as she set eyes on Sebastian.

"Hello again to you too, Esmeralda." Sebastian replied.

"What are you even doing here? If I remember correctly, I'm sure it was supposed to be Celeste and I who are supposed to clean the library."

"You two are, I am just getting some books for the young master."

Esmeralda just sighed and began to clean, staying as far away from Sebastian as possible. She ignored him, until Sebastian came up behind her, his arms caged her in between his arms. Esmeralda squeaked and turned around, looking up at him, immediately putting her guard up in case he decided to attack her.

"I find you strangely interesting…" he murmured looking her in the eyes.

"What are you—?"

"What is it that you really are here for?" Sebastian asked, a demanding tone in his voice, his eyes slitting and turning into a purple-pinkish color.

"I told you it does not concern you!"

"There has to be a reason that someone of your kind is here, and protecting some girl who I'm not even sure is human."

Esmeralda stiffened.

"What are you…?"

"I felt the power on two occasions, so I know that there is something going on with her, what I don't know, but if someone of your power has been sent down here to protect her, then there is something going on. Something that not only involves heaven, but hell as well. And I am going to find out what."

"Good luck with that. Because I'm not telling you anything."

Sebastian's eyes shown as he grabbed onto her upper arms and Esmeralda's eyes glowed as she got ready to defend herself, but they both stopped when an electric current shot through them.

It wasn't a static electricity shot, but a shot that was pleasant and tingly, which came as a shock to the two of them because normally, when a demon and angel touched, the sensation was none too pleasant.

They locked eyes, staring at each other, until Sebastian quickly pulled away when he heard the library door open.

"Esme, I'm back!" Celeste said as she walked in.

She looked around before her eyes landed on the two non-humans.

"Oh…he-hello Sebastian."

Sebastian quickly masked his shock and discomfort, flashing Celeste a smile.

"Hello Celeste, I see you are getting ready to clean the library. Excuse me." Sebastian said, excusing himself quickly.

Celeste moved out of his way to let him pass, glancing at him quizzically, and then turned her questioning gaze over to Esmeralda, who just gave her a shaky smile, and then quickly turned around to go back to cleaning.

Celeste shrugged and just began to clean.

.

Sebastian sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

'_What…was that…?' _he shook his head, deciding to forget about it, and started heading towards the kitchen to prepare tea.

.

Ciel let out a frustrated huff as he slammed his pen down.

He was trying to focus on his paper work, but Celeste's words rang through his head.

'_Is it really that simple? To forget about what those people did to me and to move on?' _Ciel shook his head, clearing the thought from his mind. _'No…it's too late for that…I'm already in too deep. Besides, our circumstances are different. She didn't go through what I went through, and if she did, she'd be just like me.'_ Ciel thought, finally clearing his mind enough to get back to focusing on his work.

But in the back of his mind, he highly doubted that she would've turned out like him.

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><p><strong>So yeah…I know it's not very good but this is more of a filler chapter, and so is the next one, but I hope you enjoyed it!<strong>

_**Review replies:**_

**VampireSiren: I hope this answers your question.**

**PrincessLinnyBinny: I'm glad you like it!**

**Doll with No brain: that will be explained later on.**

**Anna the Viking XD: Actually, she'd be classified as a Power angel, but I changed it to a Power Archangel for a reason I'll explain later on. And I hope this question sort of answered your question.**

**Paxloria: Actually, I never specified that whoever was commanding Esmeralda had bad intentions toward Celeste, and I know it doesn't but I hope this chapter helped clear up why Celeste wasn't angry.**

**Rea – chan: I updated!**

**xxHiMExx: sorry but I updated!**

**Guest: here's the next chapter!**

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	18. That Maid, The Mark

**So this is another filler chapter, but the next chapter will move the story line along. This chapter contains Sebastian and Esmeralda moments, Ciel and Celeste moments, and one fluffy Finny and Celeste moment. So enjoy!**

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><p>The Mark<p>

It had been two days since the incident between Esmeralda and Sebastian, and both avoided each other as much as possible, which was pretty easy for them because they could sense each other's presence.

Today, they both thought it would be no different, but much to their dismay, that was not the case.

"What? Why do I have to go with him?!" Esmeralda demanded, pointing a finger at Sebastian.

Ciel just sighed.

"Because this is a special package that I only trust Sebastian to get, and since he would be gone, you may try to kidnap Celeste again, and in order to prevent you from trying anything, I'm sending you with him." Ciel explained as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Esmeralda huffed, knowing that the boy was right.

If he had just sent Sebastian, she would have tried to kidnap Celeste again, and she would have succeeded.

Sebastian had stayed quiet throughout the whole exchange, but on the inside he was frustrated that he would have to spend time with her.

"My decision is final. Now you two are dismissed." Ciel said when he saw Esmeralda open her mouth to protest.

Esmeralda shut her mouth and grumbled while Sebastian bowed.

"Yes, my lord. I will make sure to tell Celeste to tend to your needs." Sebastian said, straightening up and turning to leave.

Ciel stiffened slightly, having not spoken to the girl since their conversation two days ago.

"…Alright…" he finally got out, watching as the two supernatural beings left.

.

Sebastian sighed as he faced Esmeralda.

"I will find Celeste, you go and get ready." He didn't give her time to argue as he walked off quickly.

Esmeralda huffed and walked to her room, getting ready for the long day ahead of her.

.

Celeste was outside with Finny, helping him take care of the garden.

"Ne, Celeste…is something wrong? You've been awfully quiet." Finny asked the white haired maid.

Celeste stopped what she was doing and sighed.

In truth, what had happened with Ciel two days before had been on her mind, but she wasn't about to tell Finny that.

"I-it's nothing, Finny. Every things fine…"

Finny frowned, putting down his gardening tools and took the gardening tools out of Celeste's hands, and then took her hands in his.

"I might not be the smartest person, but I do know when something is wrong with my friends, and I know something is wrong with you, Celeste. You don't have to tell me, but I want you to know that I'm here for you." Celeste just stared wide eyed at his determined and sincere face.

She smiled and leaned up and kissed his cheek, and then hugged him.

"Thank you, Finny." She muttered into his chest.

Finny turned a cherry red and tentatively wrapped his arms around her.

"Y-you're welcome," he murmured.

They stayed like that, until Sebastian came and interrupted them.

"Celeste." Both she and Finny jumped back, away from each other, Celeste's face turning red while Finny's face turned darker.

"Y-yes, Sebastian?" Celeste asked, facing him.

"Esmeralda and I shall be out running an errand for the young master, and until I return, I want you to tend to the young master's needs."

Celeste pressed her lips into a thin line but nodded anyways.

"Okay…" she forced out.

Sebastian nodded and turned around, starting to leave when he stopped.

"You start now." And then he walked away.

Celeste let out a sigh, giving Finny a small smile as she told him 'bye' and ran off.

.

Esmeralda huffed in annoyance as she waited impatiently by the door for Sebastian to finish talking to the other servants.

Once he was finished, he dismissed them and turned towards her, his regular smile on his face.

"Shall we go?"

Esmeralda just huffed again, crossed her arms, and rolled her eyes, turning and walking away, leaving Sebastian to trail after her.

.

Celeste hesitantly knocked on the door of Ciel's office, shifting her weight from foot to foot and ringing her hands nervously.

"Come in." Ciel called out.

Celeste took in a breath and then let it out, and then opened the door slowly.

"Um…I-I just came here to see if-if you needed anything…" she murmured, keeping her head down so she wouldn't have to see him.

Ciel stiffened slightly, but then forced himself to relax.

"Uh, no…I am fine." He answered her, even though he was hungry; he decided to lie to her, quickly looking at her and then going back to his paper work.

"Alright then…" she said, turning around to leave but stopped when she heard Ciel's stomach growl.

Ciel blushed and looked up and met the wide eyes of Celeste.

Celeste stared at the blushing face of Ciel for a moment before she started giggling, which then turned into a full blown laugh.

Ciel was mesmerized for a moment, but then he got his bearings back and started to blush even more.

"S-stop it! Stop that right now! That's an order!" he yelled, his face burning red.

"I-I'm s-sorry bu-but—!" she tried to talk in between laughter but failed.

Ciel grumbled and waited until Celeste stopped laughing, an irritated look on his face as he glared at the paper in front of him. Celeste finally calmed down enough to talk, her face flushed from laughter, her voice still filled with mirth.

"Is there a specific snack you would like?" she asked him.

"Not really…just bring me whatever you make." He mumbled, still avoiding her gaze.

Celeste nodded and left to go work on his snack, leaving the boy to dwell on his embarrassment.

.

"I hate this."

"I know."

"I _really _hate this."

"I know."

"I especially hate the fact that you are here with me."

"Yes, I know."

Esmeralda huffed a tiny bit, agitation in her voice and on her face as she crossed her arms and stared out the window of the carriage, watching the trees go by in order to avoid looking at the demon sitting across from her.

"I really, really, really ha—"

"I know."

Esmeralda finally tore her eyes away from the window to glare at Sebastian.

"Don't interrupt me!"

"Don't drag out a meaningless conversation."

"I was not having a 'meaningless conversation' with you. We were not even having a conversation!"

"Really? That's what it seemed like to me."

"Why you—!" Esmeralda stood up, her eyes beginning to glow, but was cut off when the carriage hit a bump that sent her flying forward, crashing into Sebastian.

Sebastian caught her, his arms wrapping around her to secure her. In the process of doing so, his hand fell on the small of her back were they both felt the tingling sensation, only this time, it was much stronger.

Esmeralda looked up at him, wide-eyed with shock, while Sebastian's look mirrored her own as he looked down at her.

.

Celeste returned to Ciel's office with a plate of cookies.

"I hope you like the cookies." She said as she walked into his office and placed the cookies on his desk.

Ciel said nothing as he eyed the cookies, but tentatively reached out and took one. He brought the cookie to his faced and took a tiny bite of it.

"So…how is it?" Celeste asked him, a worried yet hopeful expression on her face as she watched Ciel eat the cookie.

Ciel looked up at her hopeful face. Though he'd never admit it, he really liked them.

"They're…passable…" he stated, reaching for another one.

Celeste's face fell when she heard that, causing Ciel to feel like a heel for lying to her, but then it lit up when she saw him reach for another one.

She figured that, even though he said they were 'passable', he really did like them.

Ciel blushed at the big smile that made it's way onto Celeste's face.

"What?" he snapped.

"Nothing…I was just wondering if you wanted anything to drink?"

"…Earl Grey Tea…" he muttered, biting into his cookie.

Celeste smiled and nodded, leaving to go make the tea.

.

Esmeralda and Sebastian stared at each other for a little while longer, until Esmeralda finally got her bearings back and began to blush profusely.

"Wh-what do you think you are doing?! Unhand me immediately!" she ordered, struggling in his grip.

It took him a second, but Sebastian finally realized what he was doing and let go of her. Esmeralda quickly backed away from him and plopped back into her seat, face flushed red and her heart beating uncontrollably.

'_Dang it! What exactly is this demon doing to me?!' _she thought, sneaking a glance at Sebastian, only to find him already looking at her.

"Wh-what?!" she snapped, her face flushing even more under his gaze as she shifted around in her seat.

"Nothing." Sebastian replied, looking away from her.

An irk mark appeared on Esmeralda's face as she ground her teeth together and leveled him with a glare.

"I really hate you."

"I know." Sebastian said, his lips tugging and coiling into a sly smirk.

Esmeralda huffed and went back to looking out the window. Sebastian's smirk dropped as he examined the angel from the corner of his eye.

'_It's not possible…is it? But it feels almost exactly as he described it…no, there is no chance that it could be that.'_

.

Celeste returned to Ciel's office with the tea. As she set an empty tea cup on his desk and got ready to pour the tea, she was stopped by Ciel.

"What happened to the chocker I gave you?" he asked her, his eyes narrowing in on her neck.

Celeste paused for a second, before continuing to pour the tea.

"It's in my room." She answered him.

"And why are you not wearing it?"

"I didn't want anything to happen to it while I was working so I decided to—"

"Wear it."

"Huh?"

Ciel sighed agitatedly as he glared right at the girl.

"Wear the chocker at all times. The only time it should be off is when you are in the bath or sleeping, otherwise you should always have it on."

"But…why?"

Ciel's mind went blank at Celeste's question.

Why did he want her to wear the chocker so much?

He supposed it was because it was as if he was staking his claim on her. To show everybody, _especially _Finny, that she was his and belonged to him alone.

But that only spurred on another question.

Why did he care so much about staking his claim on her?

Just as he was about to dwell on that question, Celeste interrupted his thoughts.

"Ciel?" his name from her lips shook him out of his thoughts and brought him back to reality.

"Because I said so. It's an order." Celeste frowned but nodded.

"Then, since I'm finished here, I'll go put it on." She said, placing the tea pot back on the cart and leaving the room to go do as she was told

.

The carriage stopped and Sebastian hopped out. He held his hand out for Esmeralda but she just brushed him off and stepped out without his help, causing Sebastian to sigh.

"We will meet you back here, so please wait for our return." Sebastian told the coachman, who nodded his head in understanding.

Sebastian faced Esmeralda and gave her his signature smile.

"Shall we go?" Esmeralda just huffed and rolled her eyes as she followed him to the shop.

.

Celeste returned to Ciel's office with the chocker on and after knocking a few times without an answer, she decided to just go in.

"Um…Ciel…? I did what you wanted…" she trailed off as she stepped into the room, eyes landing on Ciel, only to find him sleeping.

Laughing quietly, she quietly walked over to him, and she stood right in front of him, seeing as he had turned his chair to the side.

Celeste admired him for a moment, taking in his whole appearance. She reached out her hand and brushed it through his hair. This caused Ciel to stir slightly, which in turn made Celeste quickly snap her hand back, but when she saw he was still asleep, she continued.

She reached out her hand again, and this time, brushed it against his eye patch. She furrowed her brows as she felt it. She thought that he wore one because he was missing an eye, but by the feel of it, it still felt like he had the eye. She felt around the eye patch a bit more and then started to play with the edges of the patch, intrigued by it and wanting to see if her hunch was correct about him still having his eye.

Just as she had begun to lift the edge of the patch, Ciel's uncovered eye snapped open.

"What are you doing?" he questioned.

Celeste jumped and withdrew her hand from his eye patch.

"S-sorry, I was…um, uh…" she tried to get out but faltered and stopped.

Ciel just raised an eye brow at her, which only succeeded in further embarrassing the girl.

"I-I'll just get the stuff and leave." She said, quickly cleaning up.

"Wait." Celeste stopped moving and faced Ciel.

Ciel got up from his chair and walked over to her. He stopped in front of her and reached out his hand, fingering the chocker.

"You're wearing it." He stated simply.

Celeste blushed at the proximity they were in, her lips trembling as she tried to form a complete sentence.

"Um, uh ye-yeah…um, y-you said to-to put it on, remember?" she stuttered out.

Ciel nodded, his eyes leaving the necklace and looking into her own eyes. Celeste nervously bit her lip and Ciel caught the action, his eyes narrowing in on her lip. He glanced back up into her eyes.

He reached up and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear, letting his finger trail down her cheek, and then letting his hand fall back down by his side.

They stared at each other with baited breaths, their faces drawing nearer…only to have the moment ruined by Ciel's door banging open, causing the two to spring away from each other.

"CIEL~!"

.

"Are we almost there?" Esmeralda asked as she walked with Sebastian.

Sebastian looked down at the piece of paper in his hands and then answered her.

"We are almost there."

"Explain 'almost'." She prodded him, causing the demon to let out an agitated sigh.

"I feel as if you enjoy trying my patience." Esmeralda smirked.

"I admit…it's becoming a favorite past time of mine." Sebastian shot her an irritated look and Esmeralda snickered.

Because of the distraction, she didn't notice a little boy running full speed towards her, until he collided into her leg.

"Oh, I'm sorry lady!" the little boy exclaimed, blushing a bit.

Esmeralda smiled and squatted down to the boy's height. "It's okay. Just be careful next time, ok?"

The boy blushed a bit more as he nodded, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"Ok." He looked up at her, and then over at Sebastian, who was watching the two interact.

"You have a handsome husband lady!" the little boy exclaimed with a big smile, waving good-bye as he ran off.

Esmeralda felt her jaw drop as she stared after the boy, then over at Sebastian, whose eyes had widened in surprise.

'_Do we really look like a couple?'_ she thought, blushing, only to shake her head to clear those thoughts.

"What are you looking at?!" she snapped at Sebastian, who was still staring at her.

Sebastian snapped out of his thoughts and cleared his throat.

"Nothing. Let's go." He turned and began walking, Esmeralda right behind him.

To clear the awkwardness surrounding them, Esmeralda repeated her question.

"So…what is 'almost'?" she snickered as Sebastian let out a sigh.

.

"Elizabeth?!" Ciel exclaimed loudly in shock.

"Oh Ciel, I've missed you!" Elizabeth cried out excitedly as she rushed into the room, pushed aside Celeste and hugged the boy. "And didn't I tell you to call me Lizzy?!"

As Elizabeth cuddled Ciel to death, Celeste got up and brushed herself off.

"Uh-um, it's a pleasure to see you again, Lady Elizabeth." She said, bowing.

Elizabeth stopped hugging Ciel and turned around, her smile leaving her face.

"Oh. It's you Celeste." She said flatly.

Celeste smiled softly.

"Lizzy, what are you doing here?" Ciel asked her.

"Do I need a reason to come see my own fiancé?"

"No, but at least send a notice for when you are coming."

"But that's no fun!"

Ciel let out an irritated sigh.

"Ciel?" both Ciel and Elizabeth faced the white-haired maid. "S-since Lady Elizabeth is here, shall I get started on lunch?" she asked.

Before Ciel could say anything, Elizabeth started talking.

"How rude! A mere servant calling her master by his first name!" Celeste flinched, casting her eyes downward.

"I told her she could call me by my first name." Ciel butted in, sticking up for the girl.

"Wha—? Bu-Ciel?!" Elizabeth stammered out.

Celeste smiled at him in thanks.

"She did nothing wrong. Anyways, in answer to your question, Celeste, yes, please get started on lunch." Celeste nodded and hurriedly left, leaving behind a slightly agitated Ciel and a shocked Elizabeth.

.

"I'll wait outside." Esmeralda said once they reached the shop.

It was a dress shop.

Sebastian raised a brow.

"Oh? And why is that?" he questioned.

A faint blush rose up on her cheeks as she coughed awkwardly.

"If it's an opportunity to get away from you, I'll take it." Sebastian stared at her for a moment, but then began to smirk.

"This doesn't have to do with what that little boy said…does it?" he asked her, leaning in closer towards her.

Esmeralda leaned away from him.

"N-No! Yes? Maybe?" she said, avoiding looking him in the eye.

"Oh really? I suppose as an angel it would be difficult for you to lie about something so intimate." Sebastian stated off-handedly, getting closer to her.

Esmeralda hissed at him, trying to put distance between them. This caused Sebastian to chuckle.

"You really are like a feral cat. Wild and untamed. Shall I be the one to tame you?" he gave her a seductive smile.

Esmeralda's face heated up.

"You keep away from me!" she ordered.

Sebastian chuckled some more as he backed away from her and went into the store.

Esmeralda sighed and leaned up against the wall of the shop, pressing her hand to her chest in an attempt to calm her pounding heart, willing her face to cool down.

'_Stupid demon! Making me feel weird!' _she thought angrily.

She gently let out a breath that she had been holding and began to relax. She was only relaxed for a minute when she felt a sinister presence.

Snapping her eyes open she frowned.

"Demons…" she muttered, taking off towards the presence.

.

Celeste returned shortly with lunch and set it out on the table. As she served Elizabeth her dish, she didn't notice the way Elizabeth's eyes zoomed in on her neck, on the necklace to be more exact.

"Celeste…where ever did you get that necklace?" Elizabeth asked her, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Uh, um…I…" Celeste trailed off, not knowing if she should tell her that Ciel had gotten it for her.

Somehow, she thought telling Elizabeth the truth would do more harm than good.

"I bought it for her." Celeste and Elizabeth both faced Ciel, shock on their face.

"What?!" Elizabeth squeaked, her mouth forming an 'o'.

"I bought it for her." Ciel repeated.

"I-is that true?!" Elizabeth asked Celeste.

Biting her lip, Celeste nodded.

"Bu-but why?!" Elizabeth demanded.

"It doesn't matter why. All you need to know is that I bought it." Ciel dismissed the topic but Elizabeth wasn't finished.

"You've never bought me anything as expensive as that!" Elizabeth cried, banging her fists on the table.

"Elizabeth! That's enough!" Ciel ordered, looking at her sharply, causing the girl to flinch.

Elizabeth bowed her head, tears forming in her eyes.

"Ever since she has come here you've been paying more attention to her than to me, your own fiancé! I just don't understand! She's nothing but an idiotic maid!"

"Elizabeth! That's _**enough**_!" startled by the anger in his voice, Elizabeth looked up at him, only to recoil at the heavy glare he was giving her.

It was worse than the one he had given her when she had taken his ring.

"See! Even now you're defending her! Ciel you…you idiot!" Elizabeth yelled at him, tears streaming down her face as she got out of her seat and ran out of the room.

"Lady Elizabeth!" Celeste, who had been watching the exchange silently, called out to her, chasing after her.

Ciel slumped in his seat, rubbing his forehead as Elizabeth's words circled through his head.

"…Dammit!" he growled, slamming his fist on the table and getting up out of his seat and leaving the room.

.

Celeste found Elizabeth crouched next to a pillar, sobbing.

"Lady Elizabeth…" Celeste murmured sadly, reaching out to touch the distraught girl.

"No! Don't touch me! Just leave me alone!" Elizabeth yelled at her, slapping her hand away.

"L-lady Elizabeth…?"

"I hate you! Ever since you've came here, Ciel doesn't pay attention to me anymore!"

"T-that's not true! He paid attention to you today right!?"

"Ye-yes but…still! Ciel never used to glare or yell at me like that until you came a long! He cares about you more than he does me! He's never gotten me an expensive gift like that!" Elizabeth cried out.

"Lady Elizabeth, he does care about you! Very much so!" Celeste tried to console the crying girl but to no avail.

"It's not fair! What is it about you that makes everyone like you?!" Elizabeth demanded, sobbing harder.

"I…" Celeste faltered, trying to respond to the girl.

"If you had never come here, everything would have been fine!"

"Lady Elizabeth, the master does care about you and he does pay attention to you! If he didn't, when you came here unannounced today, he would've sent you home! A-and he would have never agreed to the ball that you had wanted!"

"She's right." Both girls turned and looked at Ciel.

"If I didn't care I would have sent you away today. If I didn't care, I would have never agreed to that ball of yours." He continued, drawing closer to them.

Handing her a handkerchief, he continued.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. Shall we go finish lunch now?" Ciel reached out his hand to help her up.

Elizabeth wiped her face and nodded; a small smile on her face.

"Yes…" grasping his hand, she let Ciel pull her up and lead her back to the dining room.

Celeste trailed behind them quietly, eyeing their clasped hands, a bitter feeling beginning to bubble up in her heart.

.

Sebastian walked out of the store with the purchase.

"Alright, let's g—?!" Sebastian cut himself off when he noticed that Esmeralda was nowhere outside of the shop.

An irk mark appeared on his head.

Letting out an irritated breath, he began to hone in on her presence, only to discover that she wasn't alone.

"Stupid angel…" he muttered, taking off in the direction of her presence.

.

Esmeralda let out a long sigh as she observed the landscape that had been destroyed by the fight.

She had fought and killed six low-level demons.

"Darn demons…" she muttered as she looked at her uniform which had been torn and tattered by their claws.

"Are you an idiot?" startled, Esmeralda turned around, her whip poised and ready to be used.

"Oh…Sebastian…it's you…" she breathed out a sigh of relief, lowering her whip. "…Hey! Wait a second! I'm not an idiot!"

"That's what it seems like to me. Coming here to battle with these low-level demons who can't even speak except for the use of grunts and roars…"

"It's my job to get rid of them." Esmeralda stated.

"All by yourself?"

"If necessary."

Sebastian let out an exasperated sigh.

"You truly are an idiot." Esmeralda glared at him and turned around, head held high.

"Be quiet or else I'll do to you what I did to them." She expected a snarky remark back but was met with nothing but silence.

"Sebastian…?" she turned her head to look at him, only to find that he was right behind her.

"Wh-what are you do—?!" she made a move to turn around only to be stopped by Sebastian grabbing her waist in order to hold her place.

"That mark…" he muttered, crouching down and looking at the small of her back.

"Wh-what?" Esmeralda felt her face flush as Sebastian touched her bare back.

"This mark on your back!"

"That…? It's just a mark that's supposed to help me locate my mate. The one I'm supposed to be with will have the same exact mark somewhere on their body."

"It's…it's the same mark as mine…" Sebastian muttered, taking off his left hand glove, revealing his Faustian sign.

"Huh?! B-but that's impossible! No creature should have the same mark unless—!" she looked back and saw that he was right.

It was the same.

"Im-impossible…" she whispered, eyes wide.

Sebastian brought his hand to her back and touched the two symbols together.

The symbols began to glow and the same tingling sensation came back, only this time it wasn't very pleasant, it was now more of a burning sensation.

"Ow! Wh-what are you doing?! Get your hand off me!" Esmeralda yelled as the burning sensation became more prominent.

"I can't!" Sebastian yelled back.

He hissed at the burning sensation and even though he tried to pull his hand away, it was as if his hand was glued to her back.

They both felt as if pieces of their soul were being melded together as the burning continued.

Finally, the burning feeling subsided and Sebastian quickly wrenched his hand away.

"What…what was that…?" Esmeralda demanded, turning around to face him, trying to catch her breath as she fell to the floor.

"I…I think…by the way it felt…" Sebastian cut himself off as his eyes widened.

"What?!" Esmeralda demanded.

"A demon I know…told me about what it feels like to bond with one's soul mate…if the two symbols touch, they'll begin to glow and then…there will be a burning sensation as your souls bind together…"

"Wait…no…that…that can't be…there is no way my soul mate could be a…a…a demon!" Esmeralda's started to turn hysterical as she staggered to her feet and began to back away from him.

"It's…it's rare but not unheard of for a demon to bind with a human, or in extremely rare cases for them to bind with a grim reaper…but never have I heard of one case where a demon has bound with an angel…" Sebastian got up as well and began to walk towards her.

"Th-that's true…angels have been bound together with humans and grim reaper's…but never a demon…"

"Until now." Esmeralda tripped over a tree root and collided with a tree.

Sebastian caged her in between his arms.

"No…" she whispered weakly, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Though I am not too fond of the fact that my soul mate is an angel…I have accepted it. Or more like, I have no choice to accept it."

"No! It's impossible! There's just no way!"

"Don't deny it. You can feel it too can't you? How hyper aware we are of each other in comparison to how we used to be aware of each other…how our souls seem to be conjoined…" Sebastian trailed off, staring into her eyes.

Though she may not have wanted to admit it, she did feel that way.

She nodded absentmindedly. "But that doesn't mean I have to accept it!"

"Oh?" Sebastian smirked. "I think you do. There is no way to fight this. We are eternally bound to each other…which means that you belong to me now." Sebastian's smirk became sinister as his eyes began to glow.

Esmeralda's own eyes began to glow.

"Be that as it may, I will never belong to something like you. A creature that is basically dirt beneath my feet. Keep that in mind demon." She shoved him away from her and began to walk away.

Sebastian chuckled as he followed her. Sliding off his tail coat, he placed it on her shoulders.

"What?" Esmeralda turned around to face him.

Picking up the package he had put down, he answered her.

"Your uniform is tattered; I don't believe you wish to expose such an indecent amount of skin while we walk back towards the carriage."

Esmeralda blushed as she put the coat on.

"…Thank you…" she muttered blushing.

Sebastian gave her his signature smile.

"You're welcome."

"But!" she twirled around to face him. "I meant what I said that I'll never belong to you!" Sebastian's grin turned devilish.

"Well…I guess we will just have to see about that, won't we?" in a flash, he picked her up bridal style.

"Wha—?! What do you think you are doing?!" Esmeralda yelled at him, struggling in his grip.

"It will be faster to get back to the carriage if I run at my normal speed, and you may not be able to keep up, seeing as you are injured."

Esmeralda knew he had a point. It would be faster.

"These injuries mean nothing! I can keep up!"

Sebastian's looked down at her, smirking.

"I rather you didn't try."

Before she had a chance to continue protesting, he took off.

.

Elizabeth left shortly after lunch and after taking care to finish some of her regular chores, Celeste was in Ciel's office.

"About what Elizabeth said earlier…about you being nothing more than an idiotic maid…I hope you know that that's not true." Ciel said, startling the girl who had been cleaning.

"O-oh, um, it's fine. I know she only said it out of anger." Celeste replied, smiling at him.

"But still—"

"Oh yeah!" Celeste cut him off. "I will take care to call you 'Master Phantomhive' in front of others so we can avoid trouble. Okay?" she said.

"But—" Ciel was once again interrupted by a knock on his door.

Letting out an agitated breath, he told whoever it was to come in.

Ciel had been worried that Celeste's feelings had been hurt, but apparently, and thankfully, that had not been the case. But now, she was going to do something unnecessary. Even though he didn't care what others thought about him letting his maid call him by his first name, apparently she did, ad in order for him not to be ridiculed by it, she had decided to only call him by his first name in private or when the other members of the household were around.

The door opened and in came a worn out, bruised, and tattered Esmeralda and a smiling Sebastian

"Oh no! Esmeralda what happened?!" Celeste exclaimed, running over to the woman.

Smiling, Esmeralda answered her.

"I got separated from Sebastian and made my way to a park where I tripped and fell. That's why I'm like this." it wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't the exact truth either.

"Bu—"

"Sebastian, I assume you have the package?" Ciel interrupted the girl.

"Yes, of course." Sebastian said, handing him the package.

Ciel eyed him, giving him a look that said that he would explain later, to which Sebastian nodded in understanding.

"Celeste." Celeste faced away from Esmeralda and looked at Ciel. "This is for you." Celeste walked over and took the box from him.

"Thank you." She said as she lifted the box up, and in it she found a beautiful navy blue and black dress with a pair of black gloves and navy blue high-heeled shoes with a black bow on them. **(Link to dress in bio)**

Celeste's mouth fell open and she looked up at Ciel.

Blushing, Ciel coughed awkwardly.

"I…I know you don't have any other clothes besides your maid uniform so I thought that you might like at least one other outfit…" he muttered.

"Thank you so much, Ciel!" closing the box and placing it on his desk, she ran around his desk and hugged him.

"He-hey?! Wh-what are y-you doing?!" Ciel exclaimed, his face heating up even more.

"Thank you so much…" Ciel grumbled and awkwardly hugged the girl back.

Finally, Celeste let go of him.

"I'm going to go try it on!" she said, hurriedly grabbing the box and rushing out the room.

"That was awfully thoughtful and sweet of you, young master." Sebastian said, smiling.

"Sh-shut up! Besides, don't forget that you still have to tell me the truth about what happened to her." Ciel said, looking over at Esmeralda, whose was also giving him a teasing smile.

Sebastian nodded and began to tell his master what had happened.

.

"Y-you two are _soul mates_?!" Ciel sputtered out, his eyes wide.

"Apparently so…" Esmeralda grumbled, a frown marring her face.

"An angel and a demon…soul mates…" Ciel muttered.

"Yes. This is the first time something like this has happened though." Sebastian said, glancing over at Esmeralda, who turned her face away from him.

Rubbing his head, Ciel let out a sigh.

"Well…as long as it does not interfere with our contract, I have no problem."

"Of course not, young master." Sebastian replied, giving him his signature smile.

"If that is all, you are dismissed." Ciel said, waving them away with his hand.

"I shall get started on dinner." Sebastian replied, bowing.

Esmeralda bowed quickly and then rushed out of the room, Sebastian right behind her.

* * *

><p><strong>DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN~! 20 pages! Woot! My longest chapter to date! Anyways, sorry for the delay but I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter will be the Curry Arch, and I may just make it into one chapter like I did the Jack the Ripper Arch, but I'm not sure yet, so I guess we'll see.<strong>

_**Review replies:**_

**Anna the Viking: I'm glad:)**

**Paxloria: I guess, and she didn't scream in fear, she screamed because Esmeralda used her power to knock her out and it hurt her. And yeah, I see what you mean, but no, Esmeralda is not evil, neither is the being.**

**lazaria: I hope you enjoy this chapter**

**EGUZMAN: I'm glad you think so! It makes me happy to read that:)**

**beccaleigh97: I updated! And I hope this answers your questions!**


	19. That Maid, The Curry Arc

**Sorry I took so long to get this out but here's the next chapter! This chapter contains possessive Ciel (a little bit if you squint) and Sebastian, enjoy! Thanks to those who reviewed, followed, and favorite-d! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

><p>The Curry Arc<p>

Celeste, along with the other servants, welcomed Ciel back to the town house. He had been gone all day so they were happy to see him, minus Esmeralda of course who just grunted in greeting.

"I see you brought all the servants this time and I see you've acquired another beautiful maid!" Lau said, smiling at Esmeralda who just stared at him.

Sebastian sent him a bone chilling glare which Lau chose to ignore.

"Yeah, they would end up more of a burden eventually if we left them at home." Sebastian said.

"Hm…" Lau replied, sending him an easy going smile.

Sebastian sighed and turned towards his master.

"Well now, you must be tired due to the cold. I will serve you tea immediately."

"Fair enough then." Ciel replied.

"Instead of English tea let's have chai that would be better."

"Fair enough then." It took them all a moment to register that they didn't know the voice.

"Err…what the?!"

Celeste and Esmeralda stared at the new comers curiously. Esmeralda specifically narrowed in on the tall white haired one, and then his wrapped hand.

'_How odd…'_ she mused as she narrowed her eyes at his hand.

"Why the blazes are you here?!" Ciel demanded, flustered

"Huh? But we just met earlier today. Did you forget?" the stranger asked.

The servants just looked on in confusion.

"Besides I saved you." The man continued. "In India, it's common to welcome and entertain benefactors. We even have a saying for that, 'entertain the guest even if you must sell your treasures'" he ranted before getting distracted. "Oi where is the bed?" he asked, looking around.

"Why are you looking for a bed?" Lau asked him.

"In my country, we sit together with guests on the bed."

"Prince~! Prince~! I found it!" the other man yelled happily from the stairs, waving.

Celeste blinked; she hadn't even seen him leave. Esmeralda smirked, enjoying how irritated Ciel was becoming.

"Oi! Listen to me!" Ciel demanded.

"Meh, however narrow it is, I've decided to stay here." The younger man stated, following the older male.

"Wait a minute! Why do I have to look after you guys?" Ciel yelled as he dashed up the stairs after them, everyone else following closely.

"I didn't really consider staying at an inn. Is it common in England for people to kick benefactors out into the cold?" the younger male asked, flopping onto the bed.

"Apart from that…just who…well who the hell are you anyway?" Ciel demanded.

"Me? I'm a prince."

"A prince?" Sebastian asked.

"This person is the twenty-sixth child to the king of the princely state of Bengal. Prince Soma Asman Gandal." The white-haired male introduced the younger male on the bed.

"I'm gonna stay for a while ok…midget." Soma said and Ciel felt a sense of doom.

"Then, as a symbol of our new friendship, this Agni will serve you chai! On a cold day chai tea with ginger can't be beat!" the taller male now known as Agni stated, rushing off to go prepare the tea.

"Err wait. Serving tea is kind of my thing." Sebastian said as he rushed after Agni.

"Amazing! Are you really a prince?!" Finny asked as he, Mey-Rin, Bard and Celeste stared at him in amazement.

Esmeralda had left after Sebastian, snickering as she watched him get flustered.

"A…prince" Mey-Rin said in awe.

"How cool…" Celeste breathed out.

"Hmm this is like, my first time seeing a real prince." Bard stated.

"I shall allow you to come closer." Soma said.

As soon as he said that, the servants rushed up to him and started asking him questions. He answered them, and as he did so, Ciel felt his temper slowly boil over.

"Hm…what's your name?" soma asked, pointing at Celeste.

"Huh? M-me? I-I'm Celeste." She stuttered out.

"Hm…you are very pretty." Celeste blushed at the compliment and Ciel felt his temper flair even more. "I've decided that you are going to be my personal maid while I stay here." Soma declared, getting up and picking up Celeste.

"E-eh?!"

Ciel snapped.

"_**GET OUT!**_"

_**The Next Day-**_

Esmeralda sighed as she prepared breakfast. After walking in and finding Bard trying to cook breakfast with weaponry, Sebastian had kicked him out and decided to make Esmeralda prepare breakfast herself, probably as payback for her laughing at him last night. As she began to prepare the food, without knowing what to make, the door creaked open and Agni walked in, a big smile on his face.

"I hope they'll have all the ingredients I'll need." He said, talking to his self. "Oh! Excuse me! I had no idea that there was someone already here!" Agni stated, finally noticing Esmeralda.

"Oh no…I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to be doing here now anyways so it's ok." Esmeralda said, smiling at Agni.

"Oh well, I'm sure I can help you and prepare something at the same time." Agni stated, blushing a bit as he walked over towards her.

"Really? Well…thank you. I'd be very appreciative."

They began to work together to make breakfast, making nice, easy going small talk as they did so.

"Say…Agni…how do you cut this?" Esmeralda asked as she stared at the weird looking food in front of her.

"Oh! Here, I'll show you!" Agni stated, walking over to her.

He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her hands as he guided her hands in the cutting motion.

Just as this happened, Sebastian walked in to check on the preparations for breakfast (and to tease/torment Esmeralda). When he saw the position they were in, he felt a surge of protectiveness wash through him, his pupil slit-ed as he glared at Agni.

"Just _what _is going on here?" he asked, gritting his teeth.

Agni jumped away from Esmeralda, who looked up at Sebastian with a frown on her face.

"Agni was just helping me prepare breakfast, seeing as I was left with no clue what to do." Esmeralda said, sneering at Sebastian.

Agni looked between the two as they had a silent standoff.

"I see…and that required Agni to have to have his arms around you?"

"He was _helping_ me."

"Oh really…then I suppose Agni would find himself more useful elsewhere…_right_ Agni." Sebastian gave him a smile but Agni felt uneasy at the smile.

"Yes, I will make myself useful somewhere else…" Agni quickly said, rushing out of the room.

Esmeralda watched him go with a flabbergasted expression. Sebastian watched him go with a satisfied smile.

Esmeralda walked over to Sebastian, an annoyed look on her face.

"Why did you do that?" she demanded, irritation in her voice.

"Do what?" he asked innocently, his signature smile on his face.

"Why did you chase him out of the kitchen like that? He was trying to help me…unlike _you_." She spat out, glaring at the demon in hatred and disdain.

"Because…" he started; his smile growing "I don't like anyone touching what belongs to me." In a flash, his hand reached out and grabbed her waist, pulling her towards him.

Esmeralda gasped as she looked up at him, his red eyes turning into a purple-pinkish color while his pupil's turned into slits. He gave her a devilish smile.

Esmeralda stared into his swirling eyes for a moment, in a trance, before snapping out of it and shoving him away.

"I am _not _yours! Never would I _ever_ belong to a _filthy, vile, disgusting _demon like you!" she hissed, her eyes beginning to glow a bit.

Sebastian chuckled; his own eyes began to glow a little brighter.

"I don't know about that…I'm pretty sure the mark on your back," he reached out and wound his arm around her and touched her back. Esmeralda flinched at his touch which caused Sebastian to smile. "Says differently."

Esmeralda growled at him and stepped away from him quickly.

"I'm warning you demon, you'd better keep your filthy hands away from me!" she hissed and turned on her heel, heading out the kitchen.

Sebastian's demonic eyes filled with mirth as he watched her slam the kitchen door closed; a smirk on his face.

"I'm sorry…but that just won't do, because I don't 'keep my filthy hands away' from what's mine."

.

After the slight fiasco in the morning, Celeste and Esmeralda watched silently as Soma explained why he was here. After handing the paper with drawing of the woman over to Sebastian, Ciel began to talk.

"So…why is this woman in England?" he asked, glancing over at Soma, only to see that he was not listening.

"Listen!" Ciel demanded as he watched the two pray. "What the hell is this all of a sudden? Where did they get that statue from?!"

"It seems they are praying but that's such an awful, surreal figure of god." Lau stated.

Celeste found herself nodding in agreement.

"A figure of a god?" Sebastian mused. "It's just a statue of a woman who holds men's heads, wears men's heads as a necklace and happily dances on a man's stomach. That's how I see it." Sebastian stated.

Hearing what Sebastian said, Agni stopped praying and turned towards them and began to explain the meaning of the statue.

Once he was finished, Sebastian began to mumble to himself.

"If such a strong person exists, I should be careful when I go to India."

"Huh…maybe she could teach me some painful ways to kill you…" Esmeralda mused as she looked at Sebastian.

Sebastian sent her an irritated look while she smirked back at him.

Agni looked at them quizzically.

"So I have finished praying now." Soma stated, getting up and drawing every ones attention towards him. "Let's go out midget! You'll be my guide!" he grabbed Ciel and began to drag him out.

"Why me?! Besides I'm not a midget, my name is Ciel…"

"Then Ciel, I order you to lead the way." Before they could get very far, Sebastian stopped them.

"I'm deeply sorry but…it has already been scheduled for the young master to study and work today." Ciel got out of Soma's chokehold and walked off with Sebastian.

"As you can see I'm very busy. If you want to look for that person then do it yourself."

.

Celeste stared worriedly as Ciel and Soma got ready to duel. Of course, Soma had been interrupting Ciel's lessons all day so Ciel had gotten fed up with him and had challenged but she still couldn't help but feel that this was a bad idea.

Noticing her worried look, Esmeralda gently pat her head to soothe the girl.

"Don't worry; I'm sure everything will be alright." She said and Celeste gave her a small smile.

As they watched the match, Celeste felt herself pity Soma who was obviously a complete novice at fencing.

She and Esmeralda let out a startled gasp as Agni jumped in to save Soma and had hit Ciel's arm, stopping him from earning a point. She and Esmeralda quickly rushed over towards Ciel and Sebastian quickly tended to him. As Agni frantically apologized while Soma praised him, Lau began to speak.

"Oya, oya. Here you should take reprisal for your master." Lau said, throwing Sebastian a fencing sword, which he caught. "Butler."

"What are you going to do? Ciel's butler?" Soma asked.

Sebastian gave an exasperated sigh as he looked at Ciel.

"Indeed…it's because you were being mean to a novice who didn't know the rules."

"Wha-!" Ciel spluttered.

"He's right master, that wasn't very nice…" Celeste muttered and Ciel felt his face heat up and he dropped his head in shame.

"However…when the master is injured like this…as a butler of the Phantomhive family, I can't ignore it." Sebastian continued, standing up.

'_How cool…'_ Esmeralda thought briefly, before she shook her head and quickly reprimanded herself. _'That __**thing**__ is nowhere near cool! Not at all!' _

"Moreover, we are behind the planned schedule by ten minutes."

"That's your real motive isn't it?" Ciel grumbled.

Esmeralda twitched.

'_Yeah…definitely not cool.'_

"Interesting…this is good. I shall allow this duel!" Soma declared.

The two men got into position.

"Agni! In the name of Kali the goddess, you can't lose!'

"Sebastian. This is an order! Silence that brat!"

"Jo ajna (as you command)."

"Yes my lord."

.

Celeste and Esmeralda stared in amazement when the match was a draw. Celeste just because she was in awe; and Esmeralda because she couldn't believe that Agni had measured up to a demon.

'_Perhaps…it's because of his hand…'_ she thought, her eyes narrowing in on the man's wrapped up right hand.

She made a mental note to keep a closer eye on him.

.

Esmeralda sighed and grumbled irritably.

Ever since the incident in the kitchen, Sebastian had been sticking closer to her. Meaning that she got dragged around with him.

"Remind me again why I'm going to the kitchen when I'm needed elsewhere?" she asked, glaring at Sebastian.

Sebastian didn't answer her.

"Agni is in the kitchen right?" Sebastian nodded. "Why am I going?"

"Because Agni has to learn that you belong to me. Me and no one else." Sebastian growled dangerously.

Esmeralda gaped at him.

For a fleeting moment, she found it cute he was jealous but that thought was quickly squashed.

"I-I already told you that I'll never belong to you!" in a flash, she was pinned against the wall.

Eyes swirling wildly, Sebastian glared at her.

"I understand you angels are more lax about your mates, seeing as no other angel will try to steal them from you, but we demons are different. Our mates are constantly targeted and we can trust no one with our mates. I am no exception. I will make sure you stay mine, no one else can or will have you." He growled out*****.

Esmeralda just stared at him with wide eyes, mouth agape.

"Is that understood?"

Esmeralda nodded dumbly, her jaw still open.

Sebastian smiled. "Good. I'm glad we understand each other." He let her go and began to make his way back towards the kitchen. "Come along."

Esmeralda followed behind him numbly, not sure what to say.

They reached the kitchen and when they walked in, they were shocked at what they say.

There they were, the clumsy trio, actually working efficiently.

"Did we…step into a parallel universe or something…?" Esmeralda asked him, deciding not to get on his case about what had just transpired.

Sebastian, shocked by what he was seeing, didn't answer. It was then that the servants noticed them and started talking all at once, explaining what they had done (without messing up).

"Thanks to everybody, we will be having a really delicious meal tonight." Agni said, smiling.

The two supernatural beings just stared in shock.

"Mr. Sebastian? Ms. Esmeralda?"

"It's nothing…just that it's amazing how you're actually able to let them be of some help!" Sebastian said.

"Everyone are good people who work really hard!" Agni replied, smiling, as h continued to knead the dough.

"Ya…they are not bad by nature…but…" Esmeralda trailed off.

"Everybody is born with different abilities and purposes in life. With our calling and life being guided by god." Esmeralda beamed a big smile at him when he said that, which irked Sebastian. "Us humans just need to abide by god's will, naturally and slowly. In order to complete what we have to do."

Esmeralda's smile got impossibly bigger as she stared at Agni, happy that such a human did exist. Even Sebastian was awe struck.

"I don't know how to put it across…Mr. Agni, you're a really capable person."

"That's not true!" Agni denied and then launched into a story about why he wasn't a capable person.

After he was finished, Esmeralda stared at him in awe, but was snapped out of it when she heard Sebastian mutter: "Eh, but the gods in reality are all useless in a sense…" Esmeralda glared at him viciously, her eyes growing brighter.

"Eh? What did you just say?" Agni asked.

"Nope, I didn't say anything." Sebastian replied.

When Agni looked away, Esmeralda stomped on Sebastian's foot with the heel of her boot, making sure to dig extra hard. Sebastian glared at her, eyes turning back into their demonic state, not giving her the satisfaction of seeing him being in pain.

"I'd watch what you say _demon_." She hissed, walking away from him, leaving Sebastian to glare after her.

.

The servants (minus Esmeralda and Celeste) and Soma all groaned, having been stuffed to the brim with curry. Esmeralda, having sensing the impending doom of testing Sebastian's curry(s) had stolen Celeste away and avoided being force fed different curry.

When they had finally come back to the dining room the next day, they had found that Sebastian was successful in making a curry 'worthy of competing with the curry of god' as Soma had put it.

"But how did you do this in just one night?" soma asked him.

"This is the answer." Sebastian replied, pulling out the Funtom Company's chocolate.

"Chocolate?!" Lau, Soma, and Ciel exclaimed as Esmeralda and Celeste gasped.

"Cacao in chocolate was originally used as a spice which provided a special sweet flavor. The cacao which has fat, milk, and sugar perfectly blended into a chocolate added the rich substance that the curry need." Sebastian explained. "Also, the Phantomhive Company has the best chocolate made with a large dose of pure cacao. To make the best curry, there isn't a more suitable ingredient." He then began to smile, eyeing Ciel. "I noticed this when I cleaned up the Gateau chocolate that the young master requested yesterday. So you helped me out there young master."

Ciel gave him a sour look.

"Amazing Ciel! Your butler could make a curry of god in only one week. That guy will definitely use Agni also—" Soma began, only to be interrupted by Ciel.

"It's too bad, but you can't beat them with just this." Ciel started. "'To replicate' is different from 'to win'. You will probably just be on par with the curry of god. Isn't that so? Sebastian."

"Yes. As things are now it will be that way." Sebastian replied.

Esmeralda smirked when she heard this, earning a confused glance from Celeste.

"That face tells me you have a secret plan eh, butler?" Lau asked.

"Yes." Sebastian replied.

"It's no lie?" Ciel asked.

"Of course not. I don't ever tell lies." Sebastian replied.

Esmeralda snorted, earning her another confused look from Celeste. Sebastian chose to ignore her.

"On my name as the butler of the Phantomhive family…our company will definitely be the one to take home the royal warrant!" Sebastian declared.

Ciel nodded, as if to say 'I'll hold you to that.' And got up. He glanced over at Celeste who quickly walked over to him and followed him out of the dining room, Lau and Soma in tow.

Esmeralda walked over to Sebastian who had begun to clean up.

"Congratulations butler." She told him, helping him clean up.

"Thank you." Sebastian smiled at her.

"So…what _is_ this 'secret plan' of yours?"

"Ah…sorry, but that is something that I can't disclose just yet." Sebastian sent her a devilish smile.

Huffing, Esmeralda glared at him.

"Fine."

Sebastian chuckled. Suddenly, he set down the plates in his hand and turned to fully face her. Following his action, Esmeralda turned to face him.

Reaching out, Sebastian grabbed a lock of her hair and brought it to his lips, smirking against it as he heard Esmeralda let out a small squeak.

"How about a small bet?" he asked her, lifting his eyes to stare into her own eyes.

Forcing the blush that was fighting to show, Esmeralda regarded him coolly.

"That depends…what is the bet?"

"When I win, as a reward…you have to kiss me."

This time, Esmeralda couldn't fight the blush.

"Wh-what?!" she squeaked, glaring slightly as Sebastian let out a low chuckle. "Ne-never!"

"Oh? I f I didn't know any better…I'd say you were afraid of making this bet." He declared.

Esmeralda glared at him defiantly, her face cooling down slightly.

"Of course not! Fine then, I'll accept the bet! But what do I get when you lose?"

"You don't have to worry about that…I will not lose. But if it did happen…well…it'd be up to you."

Pondering this for a bit, Esmeralda thought of what she wanted.

"When you lose, you have to do whatever I want for three months! No matter what it is."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at this, but then gave her a smirk.

"I accept your conditions." He stated, letting the lock of her hair go.

Esmeralda huffed, quickly grabbing the dishes she set down and walked out, leaving Sebastian to smile after her.

.

"Wow!" both Celeste and Finny exclaimed as they looked at the elephant.

They glanced at each other and giggled before turning back to admiring the huge creature.

"What is that large animal?" Finny asked.

"That's an elephant. It's a sacred animal. I have some in my palace. About ten." Soma said.

"Amazing! You have these as pets?" Bard exclaimed.

"They can fi such large animals in your house?" Mey-Rin gasped.

Even Esmeralda looked impressed.

They were too wrapped up in asking Soma to explain all the new things they were seeing to pay much heed to Sebastian or Ciel. They only noticed something was up when Soma hid behind some plants, or at least Esmeralda and Celeste noticed something was up.

The two white-haired women turned around and saw a man talking to Ciel. Celeste decided to go off with Finny to keep looking around while Esmeralda decided to listen in. By the time the man left, Esmeralda decided that he was too arrogant for her taste, reminding her of a certain demon.

"He really is certain he will win." Sebastian stated as Soma slinked back over towards them.

"I can't wait to see his face when he realizes he has lost." Ciel replied, smiling.

"Yes my lord." Sebastian replied. "Then I will head to the competitors room and wait."

Sebastian walked away from them and over towards Esmeralda, who stiffened as he approached her.

"I hope you have not forgotten our bet." He said, smiling at her.

"Of course not. I look forward to seeing your face when you lose." Esmeralda sniffed, glaring at that.

"We shall see about that." Sebastian replied, chuckling as he walked off, leaving behind a fuming angel.

.

Esmeralda felt her jaw drop when Sebastian was declared the winner by the queen. Given, she understood the queen's reason after she explained why, but that meant that she had lost the bet! She felt herself grow pale as she realized what losing the bet meant.

She cursed her luck.

Celeste fretted over Esmeralda, watching as the woman turned deathly pale and sway back and forth as if she was going to faint. When Esmeralda finally calmed a bit, both white haired girls looked confused when they saw Agni crying while holding on to Soma's hand.

"It seems like somehow everything's ended up for the best, wouldn't you say?" the queen said, drawing Ciel's and everyone else's attention. "Isn't that good, boy?" she asked Ciel.

'_Boy?'_ all the servants and Lau thought, before bursting in barely concealed laughter.

"Your majesty, I've humbly asked you to stop referring to me that way." Ciel said, flustered and blushing.

When he glanced over at Celeste and saw that she was also laughing, his blush deepened.

Catching this, the queen smiled.

"Is that so? But you'll always be that cute little boy to me."

"Your majesty!" this caused the servants to laugh harder.

After the three bumbling servants received a good whack on the head and the two white-haired maids a stern glance, Ciel went back to talking to the queen.

"Ahem. Your majesty, why did you come all the way out here today?" Ciel asked.

"I was at St. Sophia University's choir concert, but when I heard that your company was coming to the curry fair, I had to come and see you. You only ever send letters and never come to visit, after all." She explained.

"Someone like me shouldn't be around your majesty very often." Ciel replied, averting his eyes.

"Please don't say such things." The queen said, bending down to pat Ciel's head. "You're so young, but you already perform your duty so seriously, just like your father Vincent."

At the name, Esmeralda's head perked up.

'_Vincent huh…Vincent Phantomhive…why does that name ring such a bell?'_ Esmeralda thought, pondering where she had heard the name before.

"Besides that, it's been such a long time since I came to the Crystal Palace. It seems like just yesterday that Albert and I would come here for the opening ceremonies…" she stopped bursting into tears over her late husband while her companion tried to console her.

"Oh dear, I must be leaving soon. I'll have the Grand Chamberlain's Office send you the authorization documents for the royal warrant." Getting on her horse, she continued. "I'm looking forward to eating curry bread in the royal salon as well." She then giggled as if getting ready to tell a secret. "Oh, and that white-haired maid you have, the younger one, is so cute. Don't you think?"

Ciel blushed and became flustered as he tried to think of what to say.

Laughing once more, the queen bid him farewell and then shot off.

"Shouldn't you be going as well?" Ciel asked her butler, who had been left behind.

"You majesty, please wait!" he called out, rushing after her.

"She's the same as always…" Ciel muttered turning around to face soma who had called out his name.

.

Esmeralda gulped as she uneasily walked around, glancing around.

She had been avoiding Sebastian, hoping that he had forgotten their bet (which she doubted) or he'd at least taken pity on her and decided to drop the bet (which was also unlikely, unfortunately for her). So now she was reduced to avoiding him. But alas, not all good things last.

"Esmeralda." Said women jumped when she heard the low, dark, velvety voice say her name.

Turning around slowly and laughing awkwardly, Esmeralda sent him a sheepish smile.

"Sebastian…hey…" she awkwardly waved her hand. "I was just going to go and go to sleep so I'll just be—"

"You're not possibly thinking of backing out of the bet are you?"

"Uh…"

"I surely hope not…seeing as I intend to get my kiss." As he said this, Sebastian began walking towards her, causing her to back away from him, not stopping until Esmeralda was backed into a wall, his arms effectively blocking her escape.

"Aha…you see…about that…do you think we could just forget about the whole thing? Call it a truce?" she asked as she eyed him warily.

Sebastian gave her a smile that sent a shiver down her spine.

"Of course not. Now stop stalling and fulfill the deal." Esmeralda sighed, trying to prepare herself, when a sudden thought struck her mind, causing her to smile.

"Ok…" she said.

Quickly grabbing his arm, she grasped his hand and kissed it.

"There we go." She stated, wiping her lips and walking away, leaving a shocked Sebastian.

She didn't get very far because Sebastian quickly caught her.

"That was not the type of kiss I wanted." He growled out, eyes swirling menacingly.

Unaffected, Esmeralda gave him a smirk.

"Ah…but you weren't specific. You asked for a kiss, but you never mentioned where you wanted me to kiss you." Sebastian's face colored with shock.

Smirk getting bigger, Esmeralda shook off his hand and continued on her way.

"You really should have been more specific~" she said in a sing song voice, a hop in her step.

After she was gone, Sebastian snapped out of his shock. Smirking slightly, he chuckled.

'_It seems my mate has a few tricks up her sleeves…I'm going to have to be more assertive.'_ Sebastian smiled as new plans formed in his mind.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you guys enjoyed! I know I skipped parts but this chapter was more of a filler chapter basically. Not too much CielxCeleste in this one, I wanted to focus more on SebastianxEsmeralda, I really enjoy writing their moments, and I hope you enjoyed it! No worries, major developments in both relationships, mainly CielxCeleste will happen in the next few chapters. Also, the next chapter will probably be a bit like this one but more important stuff will happen.<strong>

*** In my head, demons are more so protective and attached to their mates than angels but only because other demons will try to use their mates against them and/or steal them. This is why Sebastian was so overprotective. Angels are protective and are attached to their mates but they don't have to worry so much about losing them.**

_**Review replies:**_

**EGUZMAN: No she's not the type to be a spoiled brat, but yes Elizabeth is going to be saddened by the turn of events.**

**Paxloria: You're absolutely right, but Ciel's going to be more or less forced into fixing that problem later on. Yeah but it's going to be hard for Sebastian, seeing as Esmeralda wants absolutely nothing to do with him. **

** I'll clear that up in the story, but I can assure you that Esmeralda is not evil, you'll understand a lot about what's going on in later chapters.**

**AnimeFreak145: I updated! And thank you, I'm glad you enjoy my story.**

**Anna the Viking XD: I updated! Oh and here's a hug from Celeste *hug***

**Neusuada: I updated and I'm glad you enjoy the story! No worries, you'll get that kiss soon!**

**vampireXgirl13X: I'm glad you loved the chapter.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and New Year! Don't forget to Review! Until next time. **


	20. That Maid, Noah's Ark Circus

**Soo….here's the next chapter! I know it took me a while but I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for all those who review and enjoy this story! Also, I'm skipping a lot of this arc because I just don't have a way to incorporate Celeste and Esmeralda into it.**

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><p>Noah's Ark Circus<p>

Celeste stared worriedly as Soma yelled at Ciel. Ciel had disappeared with Sebastian for two days without notice and now they were back. Esmeralda was silent as she eyed Sebastian, a fury beginning to build inside of her. Celeste also noticed how sickly Ciel looked and even Soma seemed to notice it.

"What happened to you? You look horrible." Soma asked Ciel, walking towards him.

"It's nothing, get out of the way." Ciel ordered as Sebastian began carrying him towards the stairs.

"There's no way it's nothing, you definitely have a cold. Do you have a fever…"

"I don't! My temperature is fine."

"Liar!"

"I'm fine.

"Ciel!"

Celeste decided it was time for her to step in.

"Master…please just—" Sebastian slammed the room door in their faces, cutting off whatever it was she was going to say.

Soma grumbled about how Ciel wasn't getting away that easy and stalked away, Agni following him. Celeste lingered at the door for a bit, biting her lip in worry, before sighing and walking away, Esmeralda following her, having stayed silent throughout the whole exchange.

.

Celeste rushed up the stairs as she heard Ciel and Soma arguing.

"Now listen here you…I have a job to do! I don't have time to play your games! *cough* out of the way!" Ciel yelled.

"Your job is to lie in bed and be nursed at a hospital!" Soma argued back.

"I'm different from you! This much is…*cough* *cough*"

"Master Ciel!" Agni exclaimed worriedly, rushing over to him.

"Ciel are you ok?!" Celeste asked worriedly, walking over towards him.

"Master Ciel, please return to bed. That kind of coughing is characteristic of asthma, there's no way you're okay!" Agni told him.

"Don't touch me so easily! Sebastian, get these guys out of my sight! *cough* *cough*"

Sebastian nodded. "Understood."

"Mr. Sebastian is also Mr. Sebastian! Not to mention you're Master Ciel's butler!" Agni yelled, grasping Soma and Ciel.

"Eh?" Sebastian raised a brow.

"As a fellow butler…no. As your friend I'll say this: your master's body is your first priority! Even though it goes against orders, don't you think that, considering Master Ciel's condition, you should have stopped him? It's for my master to be bright and healthy, that I would risk my life. Isn't that what you would call a butler's aesthetics?!" Agni declared passionately.

Celeste felt herself become awed by his speech, finding herself agreeing with him.

"I thought that granting my master's wishes was my job, but…certainly, you may have a point in thinking that too." Sebastian contemplated, cocking his head to the side in thought.

"Why you…what are you being persuaded for, my orders are…?!" Ciel started to argue but was cut off by Soma.

"Now that that's decided, the patient will sleep. I'll nurse you personally." Soma declared, smiling down at Ciel.

"Agni, prepare rice porridge and a herb bath!" Soma ordered.

"Understood."

"Don't just…" Ciel started to protest but got cut off.

"Ciel's butler can get his night clothes! And an ice pillow!"

"Yes."

"Hey!" Ciel cried out indignantly.

"Ciel…" said boy stopped fighting after he heard Celeste's voice. "Please stop fighting…this is for your own good, I don't want you to get anymore sicker…"

Ciel grumbled as he took in Celeste's sad and worried look.

"Fine…I'll stop fighting…" Celeste smiled at him happily, leaving so that he could get changed.

.

After putting Ciel to sleep, Sebastian quickly left to go find his mate, who he noticed, had not been around often.

Sebastian walked down into the kitchen, smiling as he saw his mate there, chopping away at the food.

"Esmeralda…" Sebastian reached out to touch her, but had his hand quickly and harshly slapped away.

"_Don't_ touch me!" Esmeralda hissed, bringing the knife down harder on the vegetables.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. Though he wasn't surprised that she didn't want him touching her, something in her tone made him curious.

"Esmeralda…are you alright?"

"Oh, so _now_ you are taking my feelings into consideration?!" Esmeralda set the knife down and whirled around to face the demon.

"I don't understand what you mean…"

"Of course you don't! Even though the evidence is all over your body!" the angel threw her hands up in the air in frustration.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Oh please! Don't give me that! I can smell that…that…that woman all over you! You just _reek_ of lust! And then you have the audacity to try and touch me?!" Esmeralda growled out, advancing on him, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Sebastian nearly backed away from her, when a sudden thought struck him and caused him to smirk.

"Oh…so does that mean you're actually…_jealous_?"

Esmeralda stopped walking, the angered look on her face melting a bit as she turned bright red in embarrassment.

"Wha-what?! Of course not! I could care less who you decide to mess around with!" she growled out, her face growing darker with both anger and embarrassment.

"Oh I think you are…if you were not, you would not have been so upset and angered." Sebastian smirked, advancing on her.

"I'm not upset or angry!" Esmeralda protested, glaring at him and refusing to back away as he advanced on her.

"Oh really…is that so…?"

"Yes it is! I mean, you could have at least warned me that you…that you…"

"That I what, Esmeralda?"

"I…you could have…"

Sebastian stopped right in front of her, smiling down deviously at her as she struggled to find an excuse.

Reaching out, he grabbed the sides of her face with both hands and brought their faces close together, so close that their noses brushed each others.

"Maybe _this_ will make you feel better…?"

Esmeralda blinked up at him, shock all over her face at the new development.

"Wha—?" she never got to finish her sentence as Sebastian crashed their lips together in a deep, passion filled kiss.

Esmeralda struggled for a second, trying to resist him, but she stopped once Sebastian drew her closer to him and tilted her head back, deepening the kiss. As she melted into the kiss, her thoughts ran crazy.

'_This is wrong! I can't believe I'm kissing this demon!'_ but as they kept kissing, her mind stopped all thoughts and just focused on the kiss.

Sebastian just couldn't care at that moment, he was finally kissing his mate and the pleasure he felt in doing so was like no other.

They continued their kiss for what seemed like forever but was only about a minute, only to be interrupted by Agni.

"Excuse me, Mr. Sebastian…?" Agni asked as he opened the kitchen door.

Sebastian and Esmeralda jumped away from each other and Esmeralda quickly backed away from Sebastian.

Not having seen the kiss, but seeing how frazzled the two were, Agni regarded them sheepishly.

"Sorry…am I interrupting something…?"

"No/ Yes!" Esmeralda and Sebastian both said at the same time.

Sebastian gave Esmeralda a light glare, which she ignored, before sighing and turning towards Agni.

"What is it, Agni?"

"Oh I just wanted you to tell you that Master Ciel's fever has gone down just a bit."

Sebastian nodded his head.

"Thank you for telling me…I'll be right up."

Agni nodded and walked out, closing the door behind him. Sebastian sighed once more and turned around to face Esmeralda. He took in her frazzled appearance: her hair was mused up, her eyes wide and glossy, clothes slightly wrinkled, and her pink lips were slightly parted and swollen.

Esmeralda couldn't fathom how calm and collected he looked after what had just transpired, but then again…it _was_ Sebastian.

Smirking at the angel's obvious discomfort and uncertainty, Sebastian slowly approached her, his heated gaze pinning her in place.

"Now…where were we before we were so rudely interrupted…?" Sebastian reached out to grab her again, but Esmeralda finally got her bearings back and dodged his grip.

Sebastian frowned at her and made a move to grab her again, only to be thwarted by Esmeralda dodging him again and quickly maneuvering her body so that she could dash past him without getting caught.

"Esmeralda…" Sebastian growled in annoyance, his eyes changing back to their original demonic state.

"What…what just happened between us was a huge mistake, ok! It…it was a moment of weakness, one that will _not_ happen again!" Esmeralda declared, backing up towards the kitchen door.

Sebastian growled in annoyance and aggravation.

"Why can't you just accept the fact that we are meant to be together? _You're my mate_, and there is absolutely _nothing_ you can do to change that! You can fight it all you want but deep down you know that eventually you'll give in. It will be easier if you just gave in now, sooner rather than later. Remember, I have an eternity to wait for you, but I'd rather not wait that long."

Esmeralda reached the door and grabbed the door handle, ready to run out.

"You think I can't fight this? You obviously have no idea who you are dealing with. Mark my words Sebastian, I will _never, ever_ give into you." With that, Esmeralda quickly opened the door and ran out, hoping to put as much distance between her and Sebastian as possible.

Sebastian just sighed tiredly.

Really…his mate was a piece of work.

_-The Next Day-_

"It seems his fever has dropped. His respiratory sounds are normal too and his color has improved immensely since yesterday." Sebastian said as he leaned over Celeste, who was sleeping on the bed across from Soma, both having passed out due to nursing Ciel.

"It's a relief isn't it." Agni stated, smiling, leaning over Soma.

"They say sleep is the best medicine for humans. Let's not wake him yet." Sebastian said, turning to leave.

"Ah…should we wake Ms. Celeste?" Agni asked, as he hefted Soma onto his back.

Sebastian smirked a little, thinking about what his master's reaction would be upon finding the girl in his bed.

"No…leave her there." Agni nodded and followed Sebastian out of the room.

.

"Hn…dark…?" Ciel mumbled as he slowly began to wake up. "What time is it now?!" he asked, quickly getting up.

"It is seven-fourteen pm." Sebastian told him, as he pushed in a tray of food and a candle on it. "You finally woke up I see."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"It was a decision based on the fact that butlers should think about their master's health first."

"Huh?"

"Today's dinner is milk risotto with three kinds of mushrooms, with pork and wine pot-au-feu. Dessert is apple compote draped with yoghurt. Well then young master…say ahhhh." Sebastian said as he held out a spoon with food on it.

Ciel look horrified.

"Just what are you trying to be?!" Ciel yelled as goose bumps appeared all over his body.

"Ah, is it too hot? I will cool it down for you then." Sebastian said as he blew on the food. "Tsk, tsk. Such a bothersome young master to fawn over, jeez…"

"Stop it right now, that's an order! Grossing me out has its limits too!" just as Sebastian was about to reply, he was interrupted by a low yawn.

Both men turned to face the source of the yawn, only to find it was Celeste who was slowly waking up. Ciel blushed once he realized that she had been sleeping on his bed.

"Oh! Master, are you ok?! Are you feeling better?" Celeste asked Ciel, once she saw him looking at her.

"I…I…what are you doing on my bed?!"

Celeste blushed.

"S-sorry…I just wanted to make sure you were ok…" there was an uncomfortable silence until Sebastian decided to break it.

"Sorry sir, but Master Soma said patients are things to fawn over completely and be nice to. Does it not please you?"

"I don't need your 'fawning'. It's disgusting."

"Is that so. I'm sorry about that then." Sebastian replied, placing the spoonful of food down.

"O-oh, I'll do it!" both men turned to face Celeste, who blushed a little.

"Pl-please? I don't want you to strain yourself…"

Ciel blushed at the thought of her feeding him and opened his mouth to protest, but whatever protesting he was going to do, died as he saw her pleading look.

"F-fine…" he consented, blushing even more.

Celeste beamed at him and quickly took the food and began to feed him.

"Say ahhh~" she giggled at his flushed face.

Ciel crossed his arms and tried to look like being fed by her didn't affect or bother him in the slightest, but his flushed face gave him away.

"…Ahhh…" he grumbled, opening his mouth and allowing her to feed him.

Sebastian chuckled as he watched his master get fed like a baby. Ciel sent him a sharp look, but the look was ruined by his blushing face.

After what seemed like forever, Ciel finished his food and Celeste left to go take care of her duties.

"Not. A. Word." Ciel ordered, as Sebastian opened his mouth to say something.

Sebastian smiled. "As you wish."

.

Celeste waved good-bye towards the London townhouse as she put the luggage into the carriage.

"I really wish we could say good-bye instead of leaving secretly…" Celeste murmured.

Celeste sighed and got into the carriage along with Ciel while Esmeralda and Sebastian got into the front, with Sebastian steering the reins and Esmeralda sitting next to him to keep him company (although unwillingly).

_-Mini Flashback-_

"I am _not_ sitting up front with _you_!" Esmeralda declared, glaring at Sebastian.

"But it does get so lonely without your _wonderful_ company. Your _lips _do have such a way in filling me with joy." Sebastian smirked as Esmeralda turned bright red.

"Why you—"

"Uh-um…if you don't mind…I'll sit up front." Sebastian and Esmeralda turned to face Celeste, who looked at them sheepishly.

Ciel scowled as he heard this.

"No! No…I'll sit up front…" Esmeralda grumbled, not liking the idea of sitting next to Sebastian but absolutely _hating_ the thought of Celeste being forced to sit with him.

Sebastian smiled.

"Well now…now that that is all settled, let's get going."

_-Mini Flashback End-_

Celeste kept shooting concerned glances at Ciel every few second, annoying the boy.

"If you have something to say, say it." He finally snapped.

"S-sorry…it's just that…are you sure you're ok…?"

Ciel sighed.

"Yes, Celeste. I'm fine, I feel much better now." Celeste nodded silently before turning her head to look out the window.

After a bit, Celeste nodded off. Ciel watched her sleeping form for a bit, a small smile gracing his lips

'_Honestly…she's such a worrywart…'_ getting up, Ciel moved from his seat from across the sleeping girl to right next to her. _'Always worrying about other's before yourself…so foolish…'_ Ciel reached out and brushed a few strands of hair away from her face, causing Celeste to stir a bit before settling down again.

Ciel paused at her stirring, but once she stopped, he let his hand gently touch her cheek.

'_You're so fragile…yet so strong…I honestly can't understand you sometimes…'_ Ciel let his fingers trail down her face only to stop at the corner of her mouth. _'I wonder what it would feel like to kiss you…'_ Ciel thought absentmindedly, his fingers brushing gently across her lips, before the reality of what he had just thought came crashing down on him.

'_Wha-what the devil am I thinking?!'_ Ciel blushed furiously and moved back to his former seat, taking care not to look at the sleeping girl. _'It must be the sickness talking…that's it, that's all it is…'_

Though deep down…Ciel knew that it wasn't just the sickness talking…

.

Celeste and Esmeralda stood stunned as they took in the damage that happened to the mansion. Ciel just looked only slightly irritated but he kind of figured something like that would happen.

"I'm sure I've said this before, but…you are to perform the job presented to you as quietly as a shadow. That's what servants are. So? How many times do I have to spell out q-u-i-t-e-l-y before you understand its meaning?" Sebastian asked the servants.

"I'm sorryyyyyyyyy~!" they yelled.

Sebastian ordered everyone about, cleaning as he went, but stopped when he saw a scarf. Glaring, he picked it up and through it in the bag and kept moving, before a sudden thought struck his mind and caused him to smirk.

'_Well…if it wasn't for her I wouldn't have gotten my kiss…'_

After making sure the servants were cleaning, he ushered Ciel inside, leaving Celeste and Esmeralda to help with the cleanup.

.

Mey-Rin, Esmeralda, and Celeste all stopped sweeping once they heard a knock at the door.

"I-I'll get it!" Mey-Rin called, going to get the door.

"Who is i…ah, miss Nina!"

"Ca Va? The tailor who indicates the seasons, Nina Hopkins has arrived!"

Celeste and Esmeralda shared a confused look.

"I missed you Mey-Rin!" Nina yelled, tackling the girl into a hug.

"Whaaa!" Mey-Rin yelped as she was tackled.

As Nina began to molest the poor maid, Esmeralda quickly covered Celeste's eyes. She only stopped once Nina stopped molesting the poor maid when Finny and Bard appeared.

Esmeralda just raised a brow at the woman's obvious dislike towards the two men.

"Miss Hopkins. I believe I've told you many times that merchants are to come in through the back door." Sebastian told the women as he appeared at the top of the stairs.

"So you've come out huh…Mr. Stiff."

Esmeralda let out a laugh at that name. Nina looked over to the two new maids, finally noticing them.

"Oh my~ and who are you two?" Nina quickly made her way over to the two maids, circling them as she examined them both.

"My~ my~ you both have such lovely material to work with!" Nina said as she fingered the two maid's skirts.

Both white haired maids shuffled nervously.

"Ahem." Sebastian's sharp clearing of his throat caught everyone's attention. "The master is waiting, so please proceed to the drawing room. Mey-Rin escort her."

"Yes!" Mey-Rin replied.

Nina scowled at Sebastian, displeased that he interrupted her 'examination'.

.

Celeste fiddled with her apron.

She was slightly upset that she wouldn't get to see Ciel with his new outfit, but she figured that was for the best. She had been told that Lady Elizabeth was here and Celeste got the feeling that the blonde haired girl did not like her, so it was probably best if she did not go and check on him.

Letting out a sigh, Celeste got back to work. Esmeralda looked at the girl worriedly.

"Celeste, are you okay?"

"It's just that…oh Esme I'm not sure what is wrong with me! My heart aches!"

Immediately alarmed, Esmeralda quickly set down her mop and ran towards the distraught girl.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?" Esmeralda placed a hand on the younger girl's forehead to feel her temperature.

"No…at least I don't think so…"

"What do you mean?"

"My heart only ever hurts when ever Lady Elizabeth and Ciel are together and I just don't understand _why_!" the younger girl sobbed.

"Lady Elizabeth?" Esmeralda questioned, knowing that the girl was there but not knowing who she was to Ciel.

"She's…she's Ciel's fiancée…" and suddenly, the realization as to just _why_ Celeste's heart hurt hit the angel like a ton of bricks.

"Oh Celeste…" Esmeralda whispered, crushing the distraught girl into a hug.

Of course. It all made sense now.

'_My poor charge is in love and does not even know it…'_

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><p><strong>And done! I hope you liked this chapter! I know it's not the whole 'Celeste and Ciel' kiss thing you guys have been asking for but you're just going to have to wait a bit more for that! I feel evil for making Celeste upset…but it needed to be done. Anyways, don't forget to review!<strong>

_**Review replies:**_

**Animefreak145: I'm glad you enjoyed their moments! I hope you liked the ones in this chapter as well! I hope there was enough Ciel and Celeste moments in this chapter for you.**

**CheesecakePalace: Thanks so much for the kind words:) and yes, I felt bad about leaving Sebastian all by his lonesome self. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**vampireXgirl13X: I'm glad you enjoyed it and I'm glad you think so. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!**

**Once again, I apologize for the lateness, however I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Don't forget to review! Until next time, bye~!**


	21. That Maid, A Kiss and Feelings

**So…not much to say except enjoy! Oh and I've reached 100 reviews, 76 favs, and 85 follows! Thanks for all the support everyone! Just for making it to 100 reviews I've made this chapter extra long!**

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><p>A Kiss and Feelings<p>

Esmeralda sighed as she cleaned, lost in thought.

She didn't know if she should tell Celeste what she was feeling towards their blue-grey haired master or not. She wanted to tell her, but also knew that it would probably be best if she didn't.

'_No good will come out of her knowing her feelings. That boy's already engaged and he's also contracted to that demon. But I hate seeing her so distraught…what to do what to do…'_ Esmeralda let out another long sigh.

"You seem to be sighing a lot today." Esmeralda turned around and faced Sebastian.

"What are you…stalking me now?" Esmeralda grumbled, resuming her cleaning.

Sebastian just smirked, coming closer.

"I can't be worried for my mate?"

"At this point I could care less. However, I don't need you to worry about me; I can take care of myself." Esmeralda muttered off handedly, engrossed in her cleaning.

Sebastian's smirk grew wider as he came up right behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"What the—?!"

"Such an independent mate I have…makes me want to break you," Sebastian said, a semi-sadistic smile on his face.

"You stupid demons and your need to dominate your mates and each other." Esmeralda hissed out, thrashing in his arms.

Sebastian only tightened his arms around her and chuckled, burying his face in her neck.

"It'd be much easier if you would just submit to me." He murmured, lifting his head a bit to whisper in her ear.

Esmeralda blushed, turning bright red.

"N-never!" she finally pulled out of his grip and backed away from him.

Sebastian chuckled again, but didn't follow her.

"We shall see about that…" he murmured, turning on his heel and walking away.

Esmeralda bristled at that. "Is that a threat?"

Sebastian stopped walking and looked over his shoulder, a smirk playing on his lips.

"No…it's a promise." Sebastian gave a satisfied grin at seeing the angel turn bright red again and then continued on his way.

Esmeralda glared at him, not that he could see it, hating how she reacted to him.

"Stupid demon…" she grumbled, going back to cleaning.

.

Celeste absentmindedly cleaned the windows, lost in thought.

Her emotions were all in a mess as she tried to figure them all out.

'_I really hate feeling so confused…not even Esmeralda can help me…'_ she was snapped out of her thoughts by someone calling her name.

"CELESTEEEEEEEEEEE~" Finny yelled as he ran towards her.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Can you help me trim the roses in the garden?"

"Sure, I've just finished the last of the windows." Celeste climbed down the ladder she had been using to reach the windows. "Just let me put all this stuff away,"

Finny quickly grabbed the ladder and hefted it up onto his shoulder.

"I'll put the ladder away while you put away all the cleaning supplies. Once you're done I'll meet you outside by the roses!" Finny said, beginning to walk away.

"Ok, I'll see you in a bit." Celeste replied, grabbing the cleaning supplies and walking away.

.

Celeste walked outside towards the rose bushes and saw Finny already there with two sets of gloves and two loppers.

"Thanks for helping me Celes!" Finny said, handing her the gloves.

"No problem Finny," she replied, putting on the gloves and grabbing one of the loppers.

The two began pruning the flowers, talking about anything and everything that came to mind.

.

Ciel had been having a peaceful day, empathies on the '_had '_.

There was no letter from the queen and his mountain of paperwork didn't seem as high. Deciding to take a short break, he turned his chair around and looked out the window which gave him the convenience to look out over the rose bushes. What he saw when he looked outside ruined his relatively peaceful day.

Outside he saw Finny and Celeste, pruning the roses.

That didn't bother him. Not in the slightest.

What bothered him was the _smile_ on Celeste's face. Granted, he couldn't hear what they were saying but whatever it was was causing Celeste to smile so happily. Ciel growled, his eye narrowing into a glare.

"Jealousy is very unbecoming of you, young master." Ciel, startled, whirled around to face Sebastian who had a mocking smile on his face.

"I-I'm not jealous!" Ciel turned red while Sebastian's smile grew wider.

"Of course not sir…now then, would you like to know what I brought you for your snack?"

Ciel only grumbled in response.

.

After Celeste finished pruning the flowers with Finny, she went back inside and started on her other chores.

As she was cleaning the dining room, the dining room doors opened to reveal Sebastian who was pushing a cart with a tea set on it.

"Celeste, can you please bring this tea to the young master. I would do it myself but it seems that Mey-Rin has created a mess that needs to be tended to." Sebastian said irritation in his voice.

Celeste warily looked at him and the cart. She didn't really want to go and see the reason of all her confused emotions, but when she saw the impatient look on Sebastian's face, she sighed and nodded.

Sebastian left and Celeste grabbed the cart and made her way towards Ciel.

.

Ciel grumbled irritably.

How _dare _Sebastian insinuate that _he_ was _jealous _of _Finny_, of all people, just because it seemed like he could make Celeste smile.

He _wasn't_ jealous. He _couldn't_ be jealous. He _shouldn't_ be jealous…_was he?_ No, he wasn't, because if he was, that would mean that he actually liked the girl as more than a friend. It was bad enough that he actually cared for her. If he had any kind of romantic feelings for her at all then…

Ciel shook his head, cutting off his thoughts.

No, he was _not_ jealous.

And yet…as he remembered all the times Celeste was with Finny, smiling and happy, he felt his blood boil and the paper in his hands crumpled due to his grip.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a knock on his door.

"Come in," he said, figuring it was Sebastian, only to be shocked when he saw Celeste.

"I-I brought you your tea master…" Celeste murmured, pushing the cart into the room and closing the door behind her.

Ciel felt his mood sour even more at the expression on her face.

'_Of course she can smile for Finny but not for me.' _He thought bitterly.

Celeste quickly poured the tea and placed it in front of him. Bowing, she grabbed the cart and tried to quickly leave the room, only to be stopped by Ciel.

"Does being around me bother you that much?"

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb! If you hate being around me just say so!"

"I-I don't hate being around you…"

"Oh really? Then why do you smile so easily around Finny and not me?" Ciel didn't know why he was so irritated but he was, and the fact that Celeste was oblivious to the reason of his irritation was what made him even more irritated.

"I don't understand—" Celeste started, only to be interrupted.

"Of course you don't." Ciel grumbled.

"But what does Finny have to do with this?" Celeste finished.

"He has _everything _to do with this!" Ciel yelled, slamming his hands on the desk as he stood up, causing the tea cup to clatter and his stack of papers to wobble.

Celeste flinched at the noise and stepped back a bit.

"C-Ciel…"

"See! You're never comfortable around me!" Ciel growled out, his glare pinning the white haired girl in place as he advanced on her.

"Wh-why are you so upset?"

"If you'd open your eyes you'd see why."

"See what?"

"See that I like you, you idiot!"

Silence filled the room at Ciel's sudden confession. After he had realized what he said, Ciel turned dark red.

'_He likes me…Ciel said that he likes me!' _Celeste turned the same color of red as Ciel, her heart leaping for joy.

"Y-you l-like me?" Celeste stuttered out, pointing at herself.

"I…I…I…" Ciel tried to speak, but found himself at a loss for words.

"You like…_me_?" Celeste staggered back a bit, only to have her foot step on her untied shoelace, which caused her to go tumbling down towards the floor.

Ciel reached out to grab her, but only succeeded in falling towards the floor with her.

* * *

><p><strong>What happened when they both fell on the floor would start off a chain reaction in which they'd learn more about each other in regards to both the past and future.<strong>

* * *

><p>Ciel felt something soft and moist connect with his lips as he landed on the floor. Opening his eye, he stared into Celeste's own wide eyes, both their blushes worsening. When the two teens had fallen, their lips had connected and now, they were kissing. Ciel quickly pulled away from her and scrambled up off of her. Celeste lay motionless on the floor, still wide-eyed and blushing.<p>

"I…I…" Ciel, once again, was at a loss for words.

Celeste blinked and slowly began to get up, legs shaking a bit. Head lowered so that her face was cast in shadows, she began to speak.

"Y-y-you s-said th-that you…that you like me…did you…did you really mean it…?" she glanced up at him, blush worsening with a fearful yet hopeful expression on her face.

Ciel opened and closed his mouth, his own blush worsening.

He had said that at the spur of the moment, so he wasn't really sure. Yet as he stared at her red face and hopeful yet scared expression, he couldn't deny it. As memories flooded his mind of his time spent with the white-haired girl, he knew the answer to her question. Even though he refused to have acknowledged the feeling before, somehow, the girl had become such an important part of his life.

Seeing as how he was staring blankly at her and was taking a while to respond, Celeste felt herself begin to panic and lose hope.

"I-I, ne-never mind you don't have to answ—" Celeste rushed out, flustered as she began to back away from him, feeling tears well in her eyes at the thought of rejection.

"Yes."

"Huh?"

Ciel shuffled awkwardly.

"Yes…I meant it when I said I liked you…" he answered her, looking straight at her.

Celeste blinked and had to let his answer sink in for a second. When it did, if possible, she turned an even deeper shade of red.

"That's…I…I…okay…" she finished lamely.

"Okay?!" Ciel questioned, startled. "Is that really all you have to say?!"

"I…what do you want me to say?!"

"I don't know! I just confessed to you! You're supposed to say that you feel the same way or that you…that you don't." Ciel felt fear run through him at the thought of rejection.

"I feel the same way…" Celeste whispered, ringing her hands together.

"What?" clearing her throat, she spoke louder.

"I said that I…that I feel the same way."

It was quiet between the two of them, neither knowing what to do now. After a few moments of awkward silence, Ciel took a step towards her and quickly pulled the shocked girl into a hug. Celeste stiffened for a split second before relaxing into the hug and hugging him back.

Ciel knew this was wrong. He should've told her that he had not meant what he had said. He was a damned man, he couldn't give her the life she wanted or deserved.

And yet…as he held her in his arms, he couldn't find a reason to care.

They stayed in that position for a while, just enjoying being near each other, when a knock on the door interrupted their moment. Both teens jumped away from each other and avoided looking at each other due to embarrassment. Slightly irritated that their moment was ruined, he told whoever it was at the door to come in. The door opened to reveal Sebastian and Esmeralda.

"There you are Celeste! I've been looking all over for you! Come on we have to go clean the library." Esmeralda huffed, staring at the girl.

"O-oh, yes…s-sorry," Celeste kept her head down as she ran out of the room.

Esmeralda blinked in shock and then turned to look at Ciel who was looking anywhere but at the two of them. Eyes narrowing at him, she huffed and ran after the girl. Once both women had left, Sebastian faced his master and smiled.

"I sent her up here a while ago to give you the tea…I wonder what you two have been doing all this time…" Ciel blushed and turned away from him.

"J-just clean up!"

Sebastian smirked as he quickly grabbed the now cold tea from Ciel's desk, placed it on the cart, and pushed the cart out of the room.

Once Sebastian was gone, Ciel groaned and sat back in his chair, placing his head on his desk. He began to recap all that had just gone down.

He had taken in a girl that he had at first thought was a boy

He had unknowingly fallen in love with said girl

He had confessed to her

She accepted his confession and had told him that she felt the same as he did

The only problem…? He was already engaged.

Ciel felt a headache come on once he remembered that he was already betrothed to Elizabeth.

He cared about the blonde haired girl, he really did. However he only cared about her as a family member. What he felt for Celeste was profoundly different and was nowhere near familial love, not even close.

Ciel sighed as he massaged his temples.

He didn't want to hurt Elizabeth, he really didn't, however…he was allowed to be a little selfish…wasn't he? After losing everything, he was allowed to have one thing that he actually wanted, right?

Another sigh and another groan.

It would pain him to hurt Elizabeth but it wouldn't be fair to her, him, or Celeste to pretend that this day didn't happen. Ciel grumbled as he began to write a letter addressed to the Middleford family to request an audience with them in order to discuss his engagement with Elizabeth.

Once he finished, he called Sebastian and told him to deliver the letter as quickly as possible. Sebastian smirked as if he knew what the letter was for, bowed and left to go deliver the message.

Ciel could only sigh as he knew the amount of grief this would cause him.

.

"Celeste, wait! Why are you running!?" Esmeralda yelled as she chased after the younger girl.

Celeste stopped running and panted, trying to catch her breath.

"Good heavens child! Why are you running?" Esmeralda asked her once she caught up to her.

Celeste looked up at Esmeralda and blushed as she began to tell Esmeralda what happened.

"Imadecielmadforsomereasonandintheheatofthemomentheconfessedtomeandthenitrippedandfellandhetriedtocatchmebuthedidntbutwhenwefellwekissedandthenitoldhimilikedhimaswell." She rushed out, all in the span of one breath.

Esmeralda blinked, trying to make sense of what was just said.

"Okay…now can you repeat that, but coherently please. Slow down and remember to breathe," Celeste blushed and nodded, mumbling out a quick apology.

"I made Ciel mad for some reason and in the heat of the moment he confessed to me and then I tripped and fell and he tried to catch me but he didn't but when we fell we kissed and then I told him I liked him as well."

Esmeralda's jaw fell open as she stared in shock at the girl. She didn't know whether to be happy for her or to be upset. However, as she saw how happy the younger girl was, she gave her a small smile.

"I'm happy for you Celeste but…doesn't he already have a fiancée?" and just like that, Celeste's happy face fell.

"Oh…oh yeah…"

"What is he going to do?"

"I…I don't know…" Celeste whispered, fearing that Ciel would still go through with the engagement and would just try to forget about their shared feelings.

Seeing the scared and heartbroken look on Celeste's face, Esmeralda sighed and pulled the girl into a hug.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. Whatever happens will happen for a reason."

Celeste nodded as she felt herself relax as Esmeralda rubbed her back.

"Yes…you're right. I want to have hope that he'll do the right thing, for all of us."

Esmeralda didn't reply as she just continued to hug the girl.

'_Ciel you'd better figure out something! If you hurt Celeste in any way possible you'll have me to deal with.'_

_**The Next Day-**_

Celeste had barely slept with what had happened yesterday, but she didn't feel tired at all. In fact she'd never felt more awake or alive in her life. Nothing could ruin her mood! Except for when she heard Elizabeth's voice.

"Oh mother you said Ciel wanted to talk about our engagement right? What for?" Celeste quickly hid herself behind a statue.

She did feel bad, kissing Ciel when he was already engaged to Elizabeth, and hearing the girl's voice only brought those feelings out even more.

"I do not know, he didn't say…I guess we'll find out when we see him." Celeste recognized the speaker to be Francis Middleford.

"Whatever the reason, I'm sure it must be important…" she heard the voice of an unfamiliar man.

"You're right father…oh do you think maybe he wants to speed up the engagement year!" before they could respond to Elizabeth, Sebastian finally appeared.

"Ah, hello Marquis Middleford, Marchioness Middleford, and Lady Elizabeth. I'm sorry for making you wait, I will take you to the young master now." Sebastian said bowing.

"Hmm…your appearance is as unkempt and indecent as always butler." Francis stated.

Sebastian just gave her an awkward laugh as he led them to his master. Once they were gone, Celeste left her hiding place and went back to work, worry and curiosity gnawing at her stomach.

.

Ciel tried to prepare himself for whatever reaction his fiancé and her parents would have once they heard what he wanted to discuss with them.

Once he saw their carriage pull up, he began to lose some of his nerve. _He, Ciel Phantomhive _was losing his nerve. He tried to steal his nerves as he waited with baited breath for them to show. He was just thankful that Edward wasn't going to be there or else then he really would've been in trouble. Sighing, he glanced down at the paper in his hands, glaring at it slightly. On it, in bold, were the words: '_**Phantomhive and Middleford Marriage Contract**_'

Ciel knew he had to be the only noble who would not marry his first cousin. Sure, among the lower class the concept of marrying your first cousin was not as popular anymore but among the nobility it was, only because you could keep the family assets in the family. He knew breaking the marriage would only cause a stir within the nobility, especially if they knew who it was he wanted to marry. Ciel almost chuckled when he pictured the stir it would cause when everyone found out that he wanted to break the tradition (or rule) of 'nobles marry other nobles'. He wanted to marry a girl of lower status, a morganatic marriage.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a knocking on his door.

'_It's time…' _steeling his nerves, he said "come in" and watched as the door opened to reveal Sebastian, his current fiancé and her parents.

"Marquis Middleford and his family have arrived sir." Sebastian said, bowing.

Ciel nodded and shooed him away. Taking in the Marquis family, he beckoned them to sit.

"Hello my cute son-in-law! It's so good to see you~! Marquis Middleford said as he grabbed Ciel and hugged him.

"Dear!" Francis yelled.

"No fair dad I want to hug him too~" Elizabeth whined.

Once everyone had finally settled down, Francis was the first one to broach the topic of why they were there.

"Ciel…you wanted to discuss your engagement to Elizabeth right? Why?"

Ciel stared at them seriously, deciding it was best not to beat around the bush and to say what he wanted to say.

"Yes, about that—" he began, but was cut off.

"Oh about that! I already know what you're going to say!" Elizabeth said happily.

"Y-you do?!" Ciel asked astonished.

"Yes! And I feel the same way!" she continued.

"Really?" he asked, feeling relief flood through him.

"Yes, of course I do silly! You want to speed up our engagement year from when you're twenty-two and I'm twenty-three to when you're eighteen and I'm nineteen!" she finished, smiling brightly.

And just like that, the relief Ciel had felt was quickly gone, replaced with a sense of dread.

"Elizabeth that's not what I was going to say—"

"It's not?" she furrowed her brows in thought before her eyes widened in fear. "You're not trying to move the engagement year _up_ are you?"

"No—"

"Because if you are, there surely has to be something I can do to change your mind!"

"Elizabeth—"

"I promise I'll do anything you want!"

"Elizabeth listen—"

"I'll stop showing up unannounced!"

"Lizzy please just listen—"

"I'll stop asking you to dance also!"

"Lizzy please—!"

"I'll do whatever it takes, I promise so! So please don't move up the engagement ye—"

"I want to break our engagement!" Ciel yelled out.

Silence befell them as the three Middleford's stared wide-eyed at the lone Phantomhive. Finally, it was Elizabeth who broke the silence.

"Ha…ha…Ciel tha-that's not funny…now what was the real reason you wanted to talk about our engagement?" Elizabeth's voice trembled a bit and tears welled up in her eyes.

Ciel gave her a sad stare.

"I'm not kidding, Elizabeth." Said girl stared at him in shock, tears beginning to trail down her face.

"What…?" she squeaked out.

"Yes Ciel. Just what do you mean by saying you want to break your engagement." Marquis Middleford demanded, losing his normally cheerful demeanor to a more serious one.

Ciel sighed. "I mean no disrespect to you or your family Marquis Middlford, and my reasons for wanting to break the engagement have nothing to do with your family. My reasons are personal."

"I don't care whatever personal reason you have, Ciel. You must explain yourself properly if you wish for us to even _consider_ breaking off the engagement." Francis said, staring hard at him.

Ciel only sighed and glanced at the engagement paper before sliding it towards them.

"Like I said before, my reasons are personal, so would you please just—"

"And like my wife said, you must tell us the reason." Alexis interrupted.

Ciel glanced at them, wondering if he should. But when he saw their expressions, he decided the best course of action would be to tell the truth.

"I fell in love with another and I didn't think it was fair to continue this engagement when my heart belongs to another."

The three Middleford's all stared in shock at Ciel, not truly believing what he was saying.

"You…you fell in love with…with someone else?" Elizabeth choked out.

Ciel only nodded in reply.

Suddenly, Francis's eyes softened a bit as she gave Ciel a sad, knowing smile.

"You fell in love with Celeste, didn't you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Ciel didn't reply, but the way he tensed up was all the conformation she needed.

"I see…" Francis murmured, taking the engagement paper in her hands.

With a sigh, she glanced at her husband and then at Ciel.

"We'll break it." Alexis gasped in shock, Elizabeth in outrage, and Ciel just gave her an appreciative stare.

"Dear!"

"Mother!"

"Now stop it you two. Don't you see how serious he is? This is the first time I've seen him like this. He is being a man about it, and instead of leading Elizabeth on, he has decided to bring this to our attention immediately. He has obviously given this decision some thought."

Alexis, finally catching on to what his wife was saying, nodded in understanding.

"I guess you're right…Ciel has always been someone who thinks things through before doing anything. The fact that he wants to break the engagement shows that he is completely serious and has thought about it."

Elizabeth stared wide-eyed at her parents, body trembling in both anger and shock. She watched as her father picked up a pen and began to sign his name along the line were it stated that: _'if either party wants to break the engagement, the only way the annulment of the marriage will be acknowledged is if both parties sign below'_

Just as Alexis passed the pen to his wife, Elizabeth stood up quickly, knocking the chair back in the process.

"No!" she yelled, tears falling from her eyes as she glared at her parents and Ciel.

"Lizzy please—" Ciel said, trying to calm her down.

"No! Don't 'Lizzy please' me! It's not fair Ciel, it's not! I-I love you! I love you! Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"

"Lizzy I care about you as well—"

"Then why—"

"But only as a family member, not as someone who I wish to marry." Elizabeth bit her lip as a sharp pain pierced her heart at those words.

"Why…?" she mumbled, looking down.

Ciel only stared at her, waiting for her to finish.

"Why is it her and not me? Why do you love Celeste and not me?! She can't offer you anything! So why do you want her?"

Ciel sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"Why I like her? I don't honestly know. But I do know that whenever she's happy, I'm happy. Whenever she's sad, I'm sad. Whenever she's mad I'm mad. It doesn't matter the reason, I just do. I enjoy seeing her smile and I know that I'd do anything to keep her smiling and happy. I don't know how I came to like her as much as I do but I have and no one can change that." Elizabeth staggered back a bit, shock flittering across her features.

"Here Ciel, now all you need to do is sign it." Francis said as she passed the paper over to Ciel.

Ciel took his own pen and stared at the line. If he wanted to back out, now would be the time. But he was not going to; he was going to see this through to the very end. Signing the paper, he showed it to his aunt and uncle, who nodded in consent.

Elizabeth remained silent, head bowed.

"It's such a shame…and I was really looking forward to having you as a son in law." Alexis murmured as he stood up.

"Yes but…if he's fallen for someone else, there's nothing else we can do." Francis said, also rising.

Elizabeth picked up her chair silently, refusing to make eye contact with any of them. Ciel, noticing this, sighed and stood as well.

"Lizzy I'm sorr—"

"Don't. Don't apologize." She whimpered, turning on her heel and bolting out the door.

"Elizabeth!" Ciel shouted, as he and his aunt and uncle chased after her.

Elizabeth didn't stop, she just continued to run blindly until she crashed into something, no, someone.

The sheets she had been carrying laid haphazardly strewn across the floor, though Celeste wasn't focused on that, she was focused on the crying girl in front of her.

"L-lady Elizabeth?! Are you alrig—?" the glare the older girl sent her made her stop speaking and flinch.

"Why?!"

"Huh?"

"Why is it you and not me?"

"I-I'm sorry…I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Why does Ciel like you instead of me?! You have absolutely nothing to offer him! So why…? Why you?! You don't even have as much memories together! I've known him for far longer! So why?!"

"Elizabeth!" both girls turned and watched as Ciel and Elizabeth's parents ran up to them.

Glancing down at her lap, Elizabeth fisted her hands on her dress, before standing up.

"I've decided." She said, looking up at them with a determined expression on her face. "I'm not going to hand Ciel over to you. I've loved him all my life and I won't just roll over and allow you to take him from me, Celeste. You may have his heart now but I promise I'll get it back." She lifted her head high and walked off.

"I'm sorry about this, Ciel." Alexis said as he walked off after his daughter.

Celeste quickly got up and picked up the sheets. Bowing, she ran back the way she came to go re-clean the sheets, deciding that it would be better to make herself sparse for a bit.

Francis sighed, turning towards Ciel with a sad yet gentle smile on her face. Taking her hand, she placed it on top of his head and ruffled his hair.

"I swear…you are turning out to be just like your father even more. He as well broke his engagement so that he could marry a woman of lower status."

Ciel looked at her, confused.

"But my predecessors were of the same status, weren't they?" Francis shook her head.

"Ah no…it'd figure you wouldn't know. Before you're father met your mother, who was indeed the same status, he was madly in love with a women of lower status so much so that he broke his own engagement to another woman just like you have done." Curiosity peaked, Ciel continued to ask questions.

"Then why didn't he marry her?"

Francis shrugged.

"She ran away. Probably because of the pressure of society but we were close and she never mentioned anything to me that even gave me a clue as to why she'd leave…I just know that when she did, Vincent was completely distraught over it."

"Whatever happened to her?"

"I don't know…after she left, I never heard from her again."

"What was her name?"

"Cecilia Westbrook."

"Cecilia Westbrook, eh…" he mumbled, wanting more information.

Noticing how curious Ciel was becoming, she smirked a bit.

"Come to think of it…your father had a trunk and in it he kept his journal's…I'm sure there are entries on her as well in those journals…I can give it to you if you want. I only kept it because I did not think that you would be interested in it."

Ciel contemplated this. If he got the trunk he could learn more about this woman and also…in those trunks might be a clue of who shamed his family.

"Yes, I'd like to have it."

Francis nodded. "Very well. I'll send it to you once I find it." With that she walked off.

Ciel sighed as he watched her walk away before heading back to his office.

.

Ciel glanced up at the door when he heard a knock.

"Come in," he called, returning his eyes to his work.

Opening the door, Celeste stepped in shyly, closing the door behind her.

"I suppose you'd want an explanation as to Elizabeth's words earlier, correct?"

"Y-yes please."

"I broke my engagement off."

"W-What?" she spluttered wide-eyed.

"I broke my engagement off to Elizabeth. I didn't think it was fair to continue it when I like someone else."

"Oh…" Celeste felt bad for Elizabeth, however she also felt happy because that meant that she could be with Ciel.

Smirking, Ciel stood up and made his way over to her. Holding out his hand, his expression softened.

"So in light of this…is it okay if I court you now?"

Celeste blushed, nodding, as she took his hand.

"Yes you may."

Ciel felt himself grin.

* * *

><p><strong>Wooo! Done! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and sorry if it seemed rush and the kiss wasn't much but no worries, there'll be a lot more sweet romantic moments and kisses in the future! Anyways, don't forget to Review!<strong>

_**Review reply:**_

**J. : I'm glad you enjoy the story so much:). And it's ok…I actually did squeal a bit while writing that line. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!**

**Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter in your reviews and hopefully I can get the next chapter out sooner. Till next time, bye~!**


	22. Quick Question

**So I have a quick question…what would you all think if I made a sort of 'companion piece' to this story? It wouldn't be anything really serious; it would just be a collection of one-shots. Little moments within the story that I couldn't actually fit in the actual story line. You guys could even make requests for specific one-shots if there was something you wanted me to write. Anyways, let me know if you think this is a good idea or not.**


	23. That Maid, The Date

**New chapter new chapter! This honestly has to be one of my favorite chapters of the bunch:) So I decided to do the one shot thing so look out for that! It's going to be called: **_**"Angel in a devils arms: one shots" **_**And did anybody else know that they made a new Kuroshitsuji anime? Like I can't believe I just found out! The drawings are pretty nice though…Anyways~ enjoy and don't forget to review please.**

* * *

><p>The Date<p>

"Young Master, it's time to get up." Ciel blinked his eyes open as light flooded his vision.

He blocked Sebastian out as the demon began to ramble on about what he was having for breakfast.

"Sebastian."

"Yes, my lord?"

"Do I have anything planned for today?"

"Nothing of importance but—"

"Good. After I get dressed, tell Celeste and Esmeralda to prepare to head out into town, and tell Celeste to wear the dress that I bought her." Sebastian raised a brow at him.

"Yes my lord." He said.

After Ciel had gotten dressed and eaten, Sebastian left to find the two women.

.

"Esmeralda, Celeste." Both girls turned around to face Sebastian, pausing their mopping of the floors. "The master said to prepare to go out, and also for Celeste to wear the dress he bought you."

"Okay!" Celeste said, grabbing the mop and bucket and going to go do what she was told.

Esmeralda just glanced at Sebastian.

"I suppose you'll be coming a long?" Sebastian smiled.

"Of course."

"I can never get away from you…can I?"

"No you cannot." Esmeralda just huffed and grabbed her cleaning supplies, walking after Celeste.

Sebastian smirked as he watched her walked away. Once she was out of sight, he left and went to inform the other servants of the situation.

.

Ciel waited by the front door, Sebastian standing next to him. When he heard the sound of heels clicking on the floor, he looked up and sucked in a gasp of surprise. Celeste was in the dress he had bought her a while back, and this was the first time he had seen her in it. To him, she looked beautiful in it.

"H-how do I look…?" Celeste asked him, blushing at the look on his face.

Ciel stopped gawking and blushed, looking down at his shoes.

"Y-you look nice…" he mumbled.

Sebastian smirked at the scene before him while Esmeralda just sighed and shook her head.

"Not to ruin the moment or anything, but shouldn't we be going?" Esmeralda said, smirking as the two teens jumped and nodded.

They walked out and walked towards the carriage. Sebastian helped Ciel in and went to help Celeste but Esmeralda batted his hand away and helped the girl in herself, muttering about how his hands would "Taint Celeste's innocence."

Sebastian just sighed. After Celeste was in, Sebastian held his hand out for Esmeralda, who sneered at him and got in without taking his hands. Sebastian just glared at her as he got in and sat next to her, seeing as Ciel had made Celeste sit next to him. Just to bug her, Sebastian sat as close to her as he could, earning him a glare from the woman.

"So why are we going out?" Celeste asked Ciel.

"Well I can't have the girl I like going around without the best gowns on, can I?" Ciel sent her a smirk, causing her to blush and look down at her lap.

"Oh…" she mumbled.

Sebastian held back a laugh at the scene while Esmeralda held back an 'Aww~'.

"So this is your first date." Esmeralda said, smirking as the two teens blushed and spluttered.

"Esmeralda!" Celeste cried, burying her red face in her hands.

Esmeralda let out a soft laugh as she reached over and ruffled the younger girl's hair.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry."

The rest of the ride was filled with silence and was relatively peaceful (except for Esmeralda who had to discreetly fend off Sebastian's wandering hands).

Finally the carriage stopped and they all got out.

"Nina's Tailor Shop…? Oh! Does this shop belong to the same woman who came to do your clothes that one time?" Celeste asked.

"Yes, it is." Ciel replied, walking inside with everyone trailing behind him.

As soon as they entered the shop, they were immediately greeted by Nina.

"Oh~ what a surprise. I was not expecting you today Earl. What brings you by my store?" Nina asked.

"I need you to tailor a few dresses for Celeste." Ciel said, stepping to the side a bit to let Nina see her.

"Oh my! It's the cute little maid from last time!" Nina clapped her hands together and approached the girl. "Just looking at you I can tell you have such _nice_ material to work with," she circled the younger girl as she said this.

Celeste shifted uncomfortably. "Um…thank you?"

Ciel narrowed his eye at Nina and stepped in front of Celeste protectively.

Nina raised a brow at this, but smirked when she saw the glare he was sending her.

"Well aren't you protective~" she cooed, causing Ciel to flush.

Esmeralda snickered, which caused Nina to turn around and finally notice her.

"And you brought the other maid as well!" Nina said, starting to circle Esmeralda. "You also have such _lovely_ material to work with~" Nina went to grab her, but Sebastian pulled Esmeralda behind him.

"We came here for you to tailor dresses. Please begin to do so." Sebastian stated, giving her a glare.

"No need to get snappy, Mr. Stiff" Nina snapped, glaring back at him.

Turning away from him, she began to address the Earl.

"So only Celeste will be getting dresses today? Why not the other one? Doesn't she also need a simple going out outfit?" Nina asked, looking at the Earl with semi-pleading eyes.

Sebastian felt his eye twitch. He did not want his mate anywhere near that touchy feely woman. Ciel glanced at Esmeralda and then back at Nina, before sighing.

"Fine, why not?" Nina smiled triumphantly while Sebastian glared at her and Esmeralda just sighed.

"Come a long you two! It's time to get your measurements so that I can prepare some nice outfits for you!" Nina said, grabbing the two females by their arm and dragging them off to the back.

Sebastian and Ciel just watched them go, both silently promising death if Nina put her hands on them too much.

.

Celeste and Esmeralda were quickly forced out of their clothes were now having their measurements taken.

"Ah~ I was right~! You both have such lovely material" Nina sighed as she looked over their measurements.

Suddenly she got a gleam in her eyes as she looked back at the two. "I have got it!" she cried, taking out a pen and paper as she began to mutter and right out her ideas.

Celeste and Esmeralda shared a look, both thinking the same thing.

'_What have we gotten ourselves into?'_

.

Ciel and Sebastian sat down, bored. After three hours of waiting around, Nina finally re-emerged, a triumphant and satisfied look on her face.

"Earl, Mr. Stiff, I have finished! Firstly, since I only made her one outfit, let me introduce Esmeralda!" she threw a pair of curtains back and Esmeralda walked out, blushing a bit.

Her outfit wasn't luxurious, but it wasn't a plain and simple one either. Esmeralda's dress was a beautiful violet color with a gold ribbon with a bow in front, situated right underneath her bust, and small gold decals at the sleeves and hem of the dress.

Ciel nodded his head in approval while Sebastian stood up, a dumbstruck look on his face.

"What?" Esmeralda snapped, blushing at the look on his face.

Sebastian quickly recovered and composed himself.

"You look lovely." He said with his signature smile on his face while Esmeralda flushed even more and grumbled in response.

"Whatever. I'm going to go change." She snapped, walking back to the back of the store.

"Next is Celeste!" Nina pulled back another curtain and Celeste shyly walked out, fiddling with the ruffles on her shoulder.

This time, it was Ciel who stood up and gawked.

Celeste was wearing a gold-yellow colored off the shoulder dress with short sleeves. The dress had a yellow rose in the middle of the dress and halfway down the dress. The bottom half of the dress was all ruffles while the rest of the dress was only slightly ruffled.

Celeste blushed at Ciel's expression. "D-does it look okay?"

Ciel snapped himself out of his daze and blushed.

"You look great." He reassured her.

Celeste smiled and went back to change, ushered out by Nina. Esmeralda walked back out, dress in a box, and sat down. Celeste showed off five more dresses, each a different color. She showed off a purple and black dress, a pink and green dress, a red dress, a white and turquoise dress, and a lavender and black dress.

After Celeste changed back into her original dress and they paid Nina, Sebastian loaded the boxes onto the carriage and then the four walked off to the shoe shop. When they were in, Celeste and Esmeralda both picked out shoes for their dress (or in Celeste's case, dresses). Once they got the shoes and the shoes were paid for, Ciel decided to head towards the candy shop, claiming he wanted a snack. By this time the streets had become more crowded and Celeste was getting jostled around, though she didn't mind as she looked at all the things in display at the windows. One particular display caught her eye and caused her to pause and look at it. It was a Funtom Company rabbit with an eye patch over it's right eye. Celeste giggled as she thought of how it reminded her of Ciel.

"Ciel this rabbit is just like you!" Celeste giggled, turning her head to the side and pointing at the rabbit.

Only then did she realize that Ciel nor Sebastian or Esmeralda were in sight.

"Oh no…" she whispered, looking around her to see if she could spot them, but the mass of people made it impossible.

Celeste wondered briefly if she should stay put and wait for them to realize that she was gone and for them to retrace their steps to find her, but after ten minutes of waiting she sighed and began to walk around in hopes of finding them. After thirty minutes of aimless wandering, Celeste began to feel panic set in.

"What if I never find them…?" she whimpered, head lowered as tears began to build in her eyes.

Suddenly, Celeste was sent backwards.

"Ow!" Celeste glanced up, only to find that she had ran into someone.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry! I'm really really sorry!" Celeste apologized as the boy was helped up by, who she assumed to be, his butler.

"Watch where you are going next ti—" he paused when he looked down at her, and suddenly his expression changed from angry to neutral to almost amused.

Holding out his hand, he smiled pleasantly at her.

"No, don't apologize. It was my fault as well." Celeste took his hand and for the first time really looked at him.

The boy was around her and Ciel's age. He had platinum blonde hair and had ice blue eyes. Though he was smiling, Celeste noticed how it did not reach his eyes, nor did it seem kind. She also noticed that his eyes were cold yet also…almost lonely.

"I'm Alois Trancy and this is Claude Faustus, my butler." Alois said.

Celeste looked up at the man next to him and was struck by the thought that he was familiar to Sebastian. Alois's butler was tall, bespectacled, had short black hair, and gold eyes.

"I-I'm Celeste Diamante, n-nice to meet you!" she curtsied, so she didn't notice the way Claude's eyes narrowed at her.

"May I ask what a young lady like yourself is doing all alone?" Claude inquired politely.

"O-oh, um I actually got separated from my companions."

"Is that so? Do you remember where they were headed?" Alois asked her.

"I do not know the specific name of the shop but…I do know they were headed to a sweet's shop."

"A sweets shop huh? Well there are a few around here so I'll accompany you until you find them." Alois said.

"Oh no I couldn't ask you to do tha—!"

"Nonsense. I have nothing better to do anyways. Now come along." Alois turned, but paused when he heard a low growl.

Turning back around, he saw Celeste wrap her hands around her stomach, a blush coloring her face.

Alois laughed, causing Celeste to blush even more. Once he stopped, he motioned towards Claude, who pulled out a lollipop from a bag he was holding and handed it to Celeste, who accepted it graciously. Glancing at the wrapping, she saw it was a Funtom Company caramel lollipop. Unwrapping it, she began to eat the lollipop.

"Shall we go?" Alois asked, and Celeste nodded.

Just as they were about to begin walking, they were stopped by a shout.

"Celeste!" Celeste whirled around and her face lit up when she saw who it was that had called her name.

"Esmeralda!" she exclaimed, hugging the woman once they were close.

"Honestly! Do you have any idea how worried we were?! One second you're there and the next you're gone!" Esmeralda berated her while Celeste looked away sheepishly.

"I-I'm sorry."

"Well, that's good. It seems like you have found your companion." Esmeralda turned and narrowed her eyes at the two.

When she saw Claude, her body went rigid and she immediately stood protectively in front of Esmeralda.

"I am Alois Trancy and this is Claude Faustus, my butler. We were helping Celeste until you came here." Alois said, seeming to not notice the tense mood.

"Is that so…?" Esmeralda said, beginning to edge Celeste back.

"Esmeralda…?" Celeste questioned quietly, confused as to why the woman was acting strangely.

"Celeste!" said girl jumped and turned around to come face to face with a frowning Ciel, with Sebastian trailing behind him.

When Claude and Sebastian locked eyes, the two glared at each other.

"C-Ciel!" Celeste smiled, but when she noticed his expression, she flinched.

"I turn my head for one second and you get lost." Ciel said as he walked up to her.

Ciel glanced at Alois and Claude and glared. "Whose this?"

"I am Alois Trancy and this is Claude Faustus, my butler. We were helping Celeste, before you all showed up. Who are you?" Alois inquired.

"I am Ciel Phantomhive." Ciel stated.

"Well than Celeste, it looks like you don't need our help anymore." Alois said, walking up to the girl.

Esmeralda and Ciel both tensed as he approached.

"Y-yes but you did still help me regardless s-so thank you." Celeste replied.

Alois smirked, before he replaced it with a smile and pulled the girl into a hug.

"Eek!" Celeste turned red and Ciel growled dangerously.

Ciel grabbed Celeste and pulled her out of Alois's grip, who only smiled.

"Excuse us." Ciel growled out, stomping away while dragging Celeste along with him.

"A-ah! W-wait a-Ciel?!" Celeste stuttered as she was forcibly dragged away from everyone.

"Bye~" Alois said, waving his hand and turning to walk away.

Claude stood still, glaring at Sebastian who glared back.

"Sebastian, let's go." Esmeralda said, tugging at Sebastian's sleeve.

Sebastian stopped glaring and nodded, turning to walk away.

Esmeralda went to follow his movements but was stopped by a hand grabbing her own.

"Have a nice day, my lady." Claude said, bending and kissing her hand.

Esmeralda felt disgust wash through her and was about to pull her hand away when someone did it for her.

Sebastian's eyes went back to their demonic state as he pulled Esmeralda away and glared at Claude.

"_**Don't. Touch. Her."**_ He hissed, gripping Esmeralda's hand and storming off, and for once, she didn't argue.

Claude only looked on at the scene, until Alois called him.

"Those people were interesting, especially Ciel and Celeste, weren't they?" Alois said as they walked back to their carriage.

"Yes they were…" Claude said distractedly.

Picking up on this, Alois turned his head towards him.

"What are you thinking about?"

"That girl…Celeste Diamante…I remember hearing her name mentioned before." Claude muttered.

"Oh really, where?" Alois asked, his curiosity peaked.

"I'm sure I've heard Lucifer mention her name." Alois stopped walking and stared at Claude.

He then began to laugh. Once he stopped laughing, he grinned hysterically.

"Lucifer? As in the king of hell? What could _she_ have that would interest Lucifer? She just keeps getting more and more interesting." Alois smile turned menacing. "Claude…I want her. And that boy, Ciel Phantomhive? Isn't his butler Sebastian Michaels? The one who burned down my home?" Alois asked his face and tone turning dark.

"Yes."

"Claude…this is an order. Help me obtain Celeste and make Sebastian suffer." Alois said.

"Yes, your highness." Claude said as he bowed, also silently thinking that he could investigate the interesting reaction Sebastian had had when he had kissed that angel.

.

Both Celeste and Esmeralda were dragged back to the carriage by irritated males. Ciel had even gone so far as to knock the lollipop out of Celeste's hand. The ride back to the manor was silent and full of tension as both females tried to avoid the angry males. When they arrived back at the mansion, both males continued to ignore the two females. Once inside, Ciel stormed off to his office, parting with a demand of a snack. After a few moments, Celeste spoke first.

"I…I'm going to go talk to him! After I put my stuff away." Grabbing her boxes, Celeste left towards the servant's hall, leaving Esmeralda with Sebastian.

Sebastian didn't even spare her a glance as he gave her the two boxes and stormed off to the kitchen.

"Jerk…fine! See if I care!" Esmeralda huffed and went the same way Celeste had.

Though as she left, she only grew even more irritated.

'_That jerk! Ignoring me like it was my fault that other demon kissed me! No way is he going to do that to me!'_ she thought, slamming her room door open and placing the packages on the bed, deciding to put them away after her mission.

She walked out just in time to see Celeste zip out of her room and, presumably, to Ciel's office. Esmeralda headed down to the kitchen and sure enough, there was Sebastian, working on a snack and dinner.

"Sebastian." She said and waited for him to turn around but he didn't.

"Hey, Sebastian." No response, she felt a vein throb on her forehead and her eye twitch.

"Sebastian I know you can hear me, so stop acting like you can't." he paused and Esmeralda thought he was going to turn around, but he only reached over and grabbed the sugar.

'_Okay that's it.'_ She thought, swiping the bag of salt off the counter and holding it up menacingly.

"Sebastian I swear, if you don't turn around this instant and talk to me I will dump all of this salt on you." Sebastian immediately stilled and turned around, eyeing her and the bag of salt wearily.

"You wouldn't dare." Esmeralda smirked and stepped closer to him.

"Oh I would." She reassured him, smirking at the twitch that was developing on his eye.

Sebastian sighed, knowing the angel was dead serious.

"Alright fine. What is it that you wanted to talk about?" Sebastian relented.

"Why are you so upset?" Esmeralda demanded.

"I am not upset." Esmeralda glared at him menacingly as she held up the salt bag.

"Tell me." Left unspoken were the words 'or else' but Sebastian got the message loud and clear when she came closer.

"I just…I did not appreciate that you let that _thing_ kiss your hand." Esmeralda blinked.

"But it's not as if I wanted him too. So why are you are you taking it out on me?"

"Because you should not have allowed him to kiss you! Better yet you should have immediately pulled your hand away." Sebastian persisted.

"I was going to but you beat me to it! Still does not explain why you—" Esmeralda cut herself off as a smirk made its way onto her face. "Oh~ I get it~ you're _jealous~_" she cooed laughing at him.

"I-I am not jealous!" Sebastian defended himself.

"Did…did you just _stutter_?!" Esmeralda gawked at him for a second before laughing again.

"I certainly did not." Sebastian stated.

"Yes you did! And oh. My. Gosh. Are you _blushing_?!" sure enough, Sebastian, Mr. always keeps his cool, had a light tint of pink dusting his cheeks.

Esmeralda had to clutch the counter for support as she laughed at Sebastian's expense. Sebastian glared at her, willing the (definitely **not** a blush) slight dusting of pink on his cheeks to go away.

"How does it feel now to be the embarrassed one?" Esmeralda teased, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Sebastian glared at her, but then smirked.

"So you admit that you get flustered by me." Esmeralda stopped laughing.

"What? No I don't!"

Sebastian smirked and in two big steps was right in front of her, only an inch between them. Esmeralda stiffened in surprise at the sudden invasion of her space.

"Oh really?" Sebastian whispered in her ear.

Esmeralda felt the blood rush up to her face, but tried to keep it at bay so that she wouldn't prove Sebastian right.

"Really." She attempted to say it firmly and clearly but her voice betrayed her and it came out small.

Sebastian chuckled and the action caused his breath to blow on her ear, which in turn caused Esmeralda to stiffen even more. Deciding to save her dignity, Esmeralda quickly spun on her heel and attempted to make a mad dash towards the door. Sebastian was having none of that and quickly grabbed her and pulled her back to him.

"And where do you think you're going…hm?" Sebastian asked, chuckling at the small 'eep' his mate let out when her back hit his chest.

"I-I have maid things to do!" she stuttered out, hoping that she wasn't blushing.

'_Don't blush don't blush don't blush don't blush don't blush don't blush!' _was the mantra being repeated in her head.

Sebastian let out another chuckle as he bent his head down so that he could whisper in her ear, his lips ghosting over the sensitive body part.

"And what may those 'maid things' be?"

'_Don'tblushdon'tblushdon'tblushdon'tblushdon'tblushdon'tblushdon'tblush!'_

"Y-you know…j-just things…" she hated to admit it but she was getting slightly distracted by his breath and lips on her ear.

Sebastian didn't respond, instead he began to nibble on Esmeralda's ear.

Esmeralda turned scarlet.

"J-just what do you think you're doing?!" she cried out as she brought her hand back to hit him.

Though the plan _was _to hit him, the hand she used had the opened bag of salt in it so when she swung her arm back, all the salt came out and was dumped all over them. Esmeralda remained unaffected but Sebastian was not. Hissing, he jumped back and quickly ran to the sink to wash the burning salt off of him. Esmeralda just held her ear and watched as he washed the salt off of him.

"Th-that's what you get for molesting my poor ear!" she said, slowly inching away from him.

Sebastian turned and glared at her, his demonic eyes glowing, and Esmeralda winced when she saw the burn marks on his face.

"I…I'm sorry…?" she winced again when he snarled at her.

"Take the snack up to the young master and serve his dinner." Was all Sebastian said before he stormed out of the kitchen.

Esmeralda let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding when Sebastian finally left the room. Glaring at the half done food preparations, she finished making the snack and headed up to bring Ciel his snacks.

.

Celeste stood hesitantly outside Ciel's door. Sure she was determined to go see what was wrong with him, but now she was starting to lose her nerve. Gathering her little bit of courage, she knocked on the door. Once she heard Ciel's curt 'come in' she took a deep breath and opened the door.

Ciel had been in the middle of seething in anger over the fact that that Trancy kid had the audacity to hug what was his and that Celeste had even allowed him to hug her. A small part of him knew he was being irrational but right then he couldn't care. He had been snapped out of his thoughts when Celeste came walking in.

"C-Ciel—"

"What?" he snapped, making her flinch.

Celeste almost felt like telling him never mind and bolting out the door but she steeled her nerves and began to speak.

"I just wanted to ask why you were mad." Ciel just gave her a blank stare.

"Why I'm mad?" he repeated, anger in his voice.

Honestly, how could she _not _know why he was angry? The reason was obvious! Celeste nodded.

"I'm mad because that boy touched you!" Celeste blinked, not sure how to respond to that but luckily she didn't have to. "And I'm mad because you _let_ him touch you! I'm also mad because you even let Finny touch you as well, even when you know that you're _mine!_" Ciel growled out.

Celeste just stood quiet for a moment, before speaking.

"Ciel…could it be that you…I mean are you…are you _jealous_?" Ciel didn't reply verbally but his bright red face was enough of an answer.

Celeste actually began to giggle, which caused Ciel to start spluttering.

"I-I'm not jealous!"

"Of-of course not," Celeste laughed out.

Ciel just laid his head on his desk because she had got him. He, Ciel Phantomhive, was _jealous_.

After Celeste's laughter had died down, Ciel had lifted his head up to glare at her, but because of his red face, it didn't have the same affect. Celeste bit her lip and looked down, rocking on her feet a bit.

"I'm glad…" she murmured, causing Ciel to give her a questioning look.

"Huh?" Celeste looked up at him, her own face red.

"I'm somewhat glad that you are jealous…because that means you really like me." Ciel's face turned impossibly red as he spluttered.

Before he could respond, a knock on his door interrupted them.

"Come in." the door opened and in walked Esmeralda.

At the sight and smell of the snack, both Celeste's and Ciel's stomachs growled. Esmeralda laughed as the two blushed. After Esmeralda had given them their snack and left, an awkward silence filled the room as they ate.

"Ciel…" Ciel looked up at Celeste who just looked down at the food in her hands. "I…I will try to be more mindful of my actions."

It took him a second to figure out what she meant, but when he did, he blushed.

"Thanks…" he mumbled, making Celeste smile.

.

Ciel had to wonder what happened to Sebastian when he didn't show up to serve him dinner but when he asked Esmeralda, who was the one serving him dinner, the angel only shrugged and looked away guiltily. Deciding that whatever happened had happened because of Esmeralda he decided to drop the subject. After dinner he made his way to his room and what he saw shocked him. Sebastian was standing there, usual smile in place, but his face had burn marks on it, though admittedly they looked a few years old.

"What happened to you?" Ciel demanded.

"Esmeralda threw salt on me." He grumbled, eyes narrowing slightly.

Ciel had to hold back a laugh.

_**The Next Day-**_

When Sebastian went to inform every one of their duties in the morning, his burns still hadn't completely healed and the reaction of his fellow servants did nothing to improve his mood.

"Mr. Sebastian! Wha-what happened to you?!"

"Oi! What the hell happened?"

"Se-Sebastian?! What happened to your beautiful face?!"

"Oh my!"

"Hohoho"

"…"

Sebastian felt his eye twitch. "There was a…accident in the kitchen yesterday." He explained through gritted teeth.

It was quiet for thirty seconds before Bard let out a laugh.

"So even _you_ can make mistakes, huh?" Bard said, patting Sebastian's back who glared at him, before clearing his throat.

He sent Esmeralda a quick glare and that caused the angel to get the feeling that he was going to have his revenge somehow…and she was right. She nearly choked when Sebastian read out her chore list. Grumbling to herself, she began her list of chores, grumbling about unfair and sadistic demons.

"I only threw some salt on him…he's lucky it was not holy water…jerk giving me all this work." She grumbled as she mopped the floors.

"Think of this as payback for spilling salt on me." Esmeralda jumped and whirled around to face Sebastian.

"It was an accident! I even apologized!"

"An apology is not enough."

"Well what do you want me to do?"

Sebastian smirked as he walked towards her.

"Wh-what?" Esmeralda stuttered out, backing away.

Sebastian quickly grabbed her and pulled her close to him. Grabbing a hold of the back of her neck he chuckled.

"What I want you to do? Well repaying me with your body is enough." And with that, he kissed her.

Without giving her time to respond or push him away, he pulled away, only to kiss down her neck. Esmeralda stood stock still, not knowing what to do.

'_Should I push him away…? But it feels good…no, no, no, no, and no! It does not!'_

While she was distracted, Sebastian bit down, hard, right at the base of her jugular. Esmeralda gasped and pushed him away.

"Wh-what did you do?!" she exclaimed, placing her hand to her neck, feeling blood on her hands.

Sebastian smirked as he licked the excess blood from his lips, smiling to show his fangs.

"You taste…_delicious_." Esmeralda blushed in both anger and embarrassment. "I'll consider this as payment for last night." He chuckled as Esmeralda spluttered.

Turning, he walked away, mirth dancing in his eyes.

"You…you…you damn demon! I swear I'm going to kill you!" she yelled after him.

Sebastian merely chuckled as he rounded the corner.

'_I…I…I can't believe he actually bit me!'_ Esmeralda thought as she stormed off to go wash off the blood, seeing as the wound had healed already. _'I swear I'm going to get him for this!'_

Somewhere off in a different part of the manor, Sebastian chuckled, a satisfactory smile on his face.

'_I guess she really is my mate…just that little bit of her blood has both alleviated my hunger a bit but has also increased my desire for her blood…I can't wait to taste more'_

* * *

><p><strong>So I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to review! Oh and to explain about the last line, it's my head canon that demons have an insatiable appetites for their mates blood (the taste of their blood is basically the taste of their soul) so demons get addicted to the taste of their mates blood only, nothing else will quench their hunger (so some demons even stop making contracts with humans because they don't need their souls anymore). However, they have to be careful not to drain their mates of their blood because that would kill them. So now, since Sebastian has tasted her blood, he's basically become addicted to it and will constantly crave more and while drinking it will satisfy him for a bit, he will continue to crave more of it.<strong>

_**Review replies:**_

**AnimeGmr101: I'm glad you enjoyed it!**

**J. : Don't worry, I won't neglect this story. I'd only update the companion piece if I was going to update this story soon after, but I'm glad you like the idea so be on the lookout for the story!**

**AnimeFreak145: I'm glad you liked it! And I'm glad you like the idea but no worries, I won't let it.**

**Thanks for the reviews and everything and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! Don't forget to let me know what you think and be on the lookout for the one shots! Till next time, bye~!**


	24. That Maid, The Trunk

**So I'm back! Senior year is truly kicking butt, but I'm back! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Sorry it's on the short side.**

* * *

><p>The Trunk<p>

Ciel waited impatiently for the trunk filled with his predecessors' journals. His aunt had finally found them and had sent them and they were due to arrive any time now. Not only was he interested in learning more about this 'Cecilia Westbrook' person, he also figured that he may learn something about the people who had attacked his home.

Finally, the carriage which held the trunk pulled up and Ciel stood up as the two men on the carriage unloaded the trunk. They brought the trunk up to Ciel and placed it at his feet. Bowing, they went back to the carriage and left.

"Sebastian." Ciel called.

"Yes my lord." The demon appeared at his side.

"Take this trunk up to my study." Sebastian grabbed the trunk and immediately disappeared, leaving Ciel to trek back into the house and up to his study.

Once in his study and seeing the trunk, he immediately untied the key that was hanging by a thread from one of the handles and unlocked the trunk. Once open, he was immediately greeted by the smell of dust and leather. Ciel eyed all the journals, not sure which one to take, before deciding to just grab one from the middle of the middle pile. Walking to his chair, he sat down and began to read. He read for a while until he encountered the passage he was waiting for.

_I met a woman today while I was out. Well actually, saved is the better term. She was being robbed and I stopped the man. When I finally got a good look at the woman, I was immediately taken away with her beauty. White hair that seemed to shine when the sun hit it, bright, warm, deep blue eyes, and a beautiful figure. I'm nearly ashamed to admit that her beauty left me speechless. And when she spoke to thank me…well her voice was beautiful as well, soft but strong. I don't know what came over me, but when she tried to leave, I did not let her. I offered to accompany her and the relief that showed on her face made it clear that she was happy. I had never experienced a feeling like this before…the fact that she was happy made me fill with a sense of joy as well…it's a shame I had to leave early when I heard Tanaka calling for me. The woman, whom I had learned was named Cecilia Westbrook, was talking to me easily as she did not recognize my name, nor did she know that I was a noble, due to the fact that I was dressed rather plainly. Even now as I write in this journal, her face still continues to cloud my mind…hopefully I'll get a chance to see her again._

Ciel continued reading the journal, and within an hour he was finished. He was slightly agitated that the woman did not appear again in the journal, even though his predecessor had written about her a few times after that. Sighing, Ciel got up and walked back towards the trunk and placed the journal back in its rightful spot. He eyed the journals before deciding to just grab a pile so he wouldn't have to keep walking back and forth.

Huffing, he lifted the journals with difficulty. Unfortunately, he grabbed more than he could carry and dropped the journals, scattering them all over the floor.

Silently cursing, Ciel bent down and began to pick up the journals. Once he had them back in a pile, he glanced around and caught site of a photograph that lay on the ground. Bending down to pick it up, his eyes catching site of the words '_Cecilia Westbrook'_ written on the back. Ciel felt curiosity and anticipation brew in him as he read the name. Slowly turning the photograph over, he felt himself freeze as his hand shook, looking at the picture of the woman.

"There's…there's no way…" he mumbled, staring hard at the picture.

The woman in the picture stared back at him.

Even though the woman was older, he could see the resemblance, it was hard not to see it. Ciel felt a sense of foreboding as he continued to stare at the picture of the woman, trying to convince himself that what he was thinking was impossible, because what were the odds? But the more he continued to stare at the picture, the more he saw the resemblance.

The woman in the picture was an older version of Celeste.

Were they related? If so, then how? Or was it just mere coincidence?

So caught up in his thoughts, Ciel failed to hear the knocking on his door, only snapping out of his thoughts when a voice called out to him.

"Ciel? Are you okay…?" Ciel jumped and whirled around to face Celeste who was looking at him in concern.

Now seeing her face, Ciel was even more so convinced that the two had to be related.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Ciel quickly hid the photo behind his back.

Catching the movement, Celeste raised a brow at him.

"Because I was knocking on your door and you did not answer and what's that behind your back…?"

"Nothing of importance." Ciel dismissed her and quickly shoved the photo into his pocket and bent down to grab the journals, failing to notice as the picture fluttered out of his pocket.

Ciel made his way back to his desk and plopped the journals down onto it.

"So what was it that you—!" he cut himself off when he looked up and noticed the picture in the white haired girls hand. "Wha-what do you think you are do—"

"Ci-Ciel…" said boy regarded her curiously.

Celeste shakily lowered her hand with the picture in it and looked up, staring at him with wide, confused eyes.

"Why…why do you have a picture of my mother…?" her voice trembled slightly.

Ciel felt his breath get knocked out of him as he fell back into his seat.

"That's…your mother?!" Celeste nodded slowly.

Ciel placed an arm over his eyes and tilted his head back and began to laugh at the irony of it all. Who would have guessed that his predecessor and Celeste's mother were together, only for the woman to leave his father, and now her daughter was here, and just like his father, he had fallen in love with this girl.

Would she follow in her mother's footsteps and leave him as well?

That thought caused him to stop laughing and to drop his arm, fixing the girl with a cold stare, causing the girl to flinch.

_No._ He would not end up like his predecessor. She was _his_ whether she liked it or not. Celeste would not leave him; he'd make sure of that.

"Ciel…?" Celeste asked, fidgeting under his heavy stare.

Ciel snapped out of his darkening thoughts. Blinking, he sighed.

"It would seem that…your mother and my predecessor were engaged." He waited for her reaction, but all he got was a blank look.

"…Come again?" Ciel sighed again.

"I don't know the details but from what my Aunt Francis told me, apparently your mother and my predecessor met, fell in love, got engaged, only for it to be broken when your mother left my predecessor." Celeste blinked as she absorbed the new found information.

On shaky legs, she moved to the chair that was placed in front of his desk and plopped down.

"Wow…so…my mom and your dad were going to be married…until my mom left?"

"That's right."

"Oh…but…why? Why would my mom leave?"

"I don't know, no one did, not even my predecessor."

"I…wow…" it was silent for a moment until Celeste too began to laugh.

Ciel raised a brow at her and once she noticed the look, she stifled her giggles.

"I'm…I'm sorry it's just that…don't you think that it's kind of ironic? I mean your father and my mother fell in love, only to be torn apart, only for their kids to meet and fall for each other as well." She gave him a smile.

Ciel nodded.

"Yes…it is a bit ironic…" he replied, though his mind still wandered over to the fact that if Celeste was anything like her mother, she would leave him as well.

As if sensing what he was worrying about, Celeste bit her lip, wringing her hands together before reaching over and placing her hands on Ciel's own, clenched ones.

"I'm…I'm not sure why my mother left but…I'm kind of grateful…because now we can be together…and I promise that I will not leave you." She gave him a reassuring smile and Ciel felt his hands unclench and his mind relax just a bit.

Ciel knew that even if she promised, humans were known to break their promises. They lied all the time. However, as he looked into her eyes and saw nothing but sincerity, he wanted to believe her—_no_. He _did_ believe her. He just hoped that it would not come back to bite him in the butt.

.

Celeste moped the floors absentmindedly, thoughts scattered everywhere.

"Celeste?" Esmeralda stared at the girl worriedly.

Said girl jumped at the sound of her name and turned around to face the older woman.

"Yes…?"

"What's wrong? You seem…bothered by something."

Celeste bit her lip, before deciding that there would be no harm in telling Esmeralda. Besides, she had never hidden anything from the woman before, so she was not about to start now.

"Today…today I found out that my mom and Ciel's dad used to be engaged."

"What?!" Esmeralda felt a sense of dread wash over her.

"I know! I just want to know why my mom left him, even though I'm kind of glad because now I can be with Ciel, but…I mean if my mom loved Ciel's father enough to become engaged to him…why did she leave...?" Celeste mostly murmured this to herself but Esmeralda still heard her.

The sense of dread only grew as Esmeralda began to remember.

'_Oh lord…no wonder Vincent Phantomhive sounded familiar…'_

"Esme…are you okay? You don't look so good…" Celeste stared worriedly at her friend who had gone considerably pale.

"I'm…I'm fine Celes…" Esmeralda waved her off.

Celeste furrowed her brows, not quite believing her when a sudden thought struck her.

"You were close to my mom! Did she ever tell you why she left?" Celeste asked her excitedly.

Esmeralda felt sick to her stomach.

"No…no she didn't…" taking in a deep breath, Esmeralda tried to calm down.

'_There is no way I can tell her we both were the cause of her mother breaking off her engagement. It's not the right time!'_

"I…I need to go…" Esmeralda hurriedly gathered her stuff and quickly began to walk away.

"Ah! Wait! Esmeralda!" Celeste watched with worry as the older woman sped walked away.

"I wonder what's wrong with her…?"

.

'_Oh dear lord why? Why did you put me in this situation? I've been a good angel so why…?'_ Esmeralda thought as she quickly made her way down the hall.

So caught up in her thoughts, she did not sense Sebastian until he reached out and grabbed her.

"What in the world do you think you are doing?!" Esmeralda demanded, having been scared at the sudden contact.

She was shocked when instead of his amused face; she was met by a suspicious face.

"…What…?" she asked, crossing her arms defensively.

"You know something." The demon stated simply.

"What are you going on about?"

"I heard the conversation between you and Celeste, I saw your reaction. You know something." He stated simply.

Esmeralda felt sick to her stomach as she stared at the demon.

"You need a new hobby…stalking and spying on me is _not_ an appropriate one." She replied, trying to derail the conversation, but Sebastian was not deterred.

"Do not try to change the subject. You know something. I do not know what, but I _will_ find out." Esmeralda stiffened at his tone.

Leveling him with an icy glare, she crossed her arms.

"_Sure_ you will. Just like how you said you would find out why I was here with Celeste, which may I remind you, you _still_ don't know. So go ahead and try, but you will _not_ find out." Esmeralda told him coolly.

Sebastian growled in anger.

"Do _not_ test me." He hissed.

Esmeralda smirked in triumph. "Now if you will excuse me, I have stuff to do." Esmeralda turned on her heel and walked off.

Once she was far enough away, she sunk to the ground and groaned lowly, holding her face in her hands.

'_I really hope Celeste begins to awaken so that we can leave!'_

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><p><strong>So how was it? I hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to review!<strong>

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	25. That Maid, Pitiful

**So…I'm back! Feels like it's been forever. Wow…I'm really late on this update…I'd like to thank all those who reviewed, followed, and favorite-d! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

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><p>Pitiful<p>

"So? How long are you guys planning on staying here?" Ciel asked Soma as he drank his tea.

"What's up with that? Even though I went through the trouble of staying here to spend the winter holidays with you!" Soma whined.

Celeste stifled a giggle while Esmeralda only shook her head and sighed.

"Especially since I'm going to beat you at chess today!" the prince continued.

"Sorry, but I've got work today. Let's go Sebastian." Ciel stated as he got up.

"Yes." Sebastian said as he pulled out Ciel's chair.

Esmeralda and Celeste quickly began to clean up the mess.

"Feh! You said that yesterday and only played one game with me."

"Why don't you polish your skills by solving some chess problems while I'm working? You have too few countermoves."

"Hmph! Damn! I'll remember this! Agni, come on, we're doing some intensive training!"

"Jo Ajna!"

Celeste smiled and Esmeralda smirked at the pair while Ciel walked away, muttering about work.

"I'll take this to the kitchen, Celes, I think Ciel is waiting for you." Esmeralda said as she looked at Ciel, who had stopped walking to stare at Celeste.

"Oh, okay! I'll see you later Esme!" Celeste said as she went over to Ciel's side.

Esmeralda gave her a smile and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

.

Esmeralda walked in the kitchen, noticing that it was only Mey-Rin and Bard who were in there.

"Sigh~ I can't relax with this kind of weather. It'd be better if it waited until the washing has dried." Mey-Rin muttered to herself, staring worriedly at the weather.

Esmeralda silently agreed with her as she began to clean the dishes.

"Jeez, this country really only has stormy weather." Bard complained as he peeled potatoes.

Esmeralda stiffened as she heard a noise outside the door. She stopped washing and began to move away from the door, while beginning to get into a fighting position.

"If it's always this kind of heavy weather I'll get all gloomy." Bard continued.

"Watch out!" Esmeralda yelled, just as the door exploded.

"I'm coming in! Is Earl Phantomhive in?" the man with the sword asked as he walked in with another man right behind him.

"Who the hell are you?" Bard demanded as he and Mey-Rin got into fighting positions.

"What? You'll play with…me?!" the man with the sword asked as he began to attack the two servants.

The two servants dodged his sword as he attacked them.

"Fast!" Bard cursed as their attacker turned to swing at him, only to be stopped by a barrage of bullets being shot at him.

"Wow! Double guns are so cool!" the man said as he dodged the bullets. "But…" just as he ran to attack Mey-Rin, he was stopped by a whip wrapping around his sword.

The man looked shocked as he stared at Esmeralda, who used her whip to pull the man and his sword away from Mey-Rin and towards her. Keeping a tight grip on her whip, Esmeralda leapt up and tried to kick the man, but he dodged, managed to get his sword out of the whip, and began to rush at Esmeralda, who landed and turned around, whip at the ready, to face him. Before the man could get within three feet of her, Sebastian appeared, with a tray full of food in hand, and used it to block the sword from getting close to Esmeralda. The man slid back as he stared at his sword, which now had a pastry on it.

"It's a custard choux cream made from the eggs of our own Phantomhive territory's poultry. Please take a bite." Sebastian said a pleasant smile on his face.

Esmeralda had to roll her eyes at his protective demeanor, seeing as he shifted in front of her, so that she was blocked from the man's view, and he was blocked from hers.

"Hm…so-so I guess. Kinda like the lowest passing mark?"

"Hey, Sebastian! What the hell are these guys?!" Bard exclaimed.

Sebastian gained a nearly exasperated expression. "These two are…"

"Oh yeah, we haven't met you guys before." The man said, cutting off Sebastian, placing his sword back in its holder. "My name is Charles Grey."

"My name is Charles Phipps" the other man said.

"We're codenamed Double Charles. We are her majesty the queen's private secretarial officers, and butlers. Nice to meet you." Holding up a letter, Grey smiled. "And today we are the messengers delivering a letter to the earl."

Sebastian nodded as he motioned for them to follow him. As the queens butlers passed her, Esmeralda stiffened as she locked eyes with the two of them. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something…_off_ about the two of them.

.

The servants were all assembled in Ciel's office, looking at him curiously.

"We will be having a party in two weeks' time, and I want everyone to start preparing for it, understood?" Ciel asked, eyeing all of them.

"Yes!" the servants answered.

"Good, dismissed." Ciel watched as they all bowed and began to exit. "Except for you Celeste."

Celeste stopped walking and turned to face Ciel, while Esmeralda shot Sebastian a questioning look, which the demon ignored and ushered her out the room, closing the door behind him.

Once everyone was gone, Ciel addressed Celeste.

"At this party, instead of going as a maid, I want you to go as my fiancée."

"Eh!? Bu-but?!" Ciel smirked at her flushed and flustered expression.

Standing from his chair, he walked towards her and grabbed one of her wayward hands. Smirking at her red face, Ciel lifted her hand to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on her hand. Not removing his lips from her hand, he glanced at her.

"I thought I'd use this party to properly introduce you as my fiancée." Ciel said, as he brought up his other hand and slipped a ring on her ring finger.

Esmeralda help up her left hand and gasped, staring in awe at the small, but extremely elegant, diamond ring.

"Oh my…Ciel!" Celeste threw her arms around the boy, giving him a tight hug.

Ciel smiled as he hugged her back. "I was also going to say that I did not want you participating in your maid duties anymore, seeing as you are no longer a maid, but my betrothed, but I know you would never agree to it."

Celeste giggled as she pulled away from her, nodding her head.

"You would be correct!" she said.

Taking advantage of the moment, Ciel quickly kissed her lips before pulling away, smiling mischievously at her tomato red face.

"I-I-I...I sh-should ge-get b-back to wo-work," Celeste stuttered as she turned and fled the room.

Ciel snickered and shook his head in amusement at her, before returning to his work.

.

Sebastian cornered his mate, eyes beginning to glow, his irritation growing.

"Let me see."

"No." Sebastian sighed in exasperation.

"Just let me take a look at your hand."

"No! It's only a little cut. Besides, it will heal on it's own without you looking at it!" Esmeralda said as she cradled her injured hand.

She had gone back to the kitchen to clean the dishes, and while she was washing them, she cut her hand on a knife. Sebastian had appeared just when she had taken her hand out to examine the damage and well…that's how she found herself cornered by him. Honestly, he probably would have left her alone if it was not for what had happened earlier.

Sebastian sighed again.

"Honestly…for an angel you sure are an unreliable klutz. I thought angels were the epitome of grace, but I guess not in your case."

Esmeralda's face burned with anger as she raised her injured hand up to slap him.

"How dare y—?!" Sebastian quickly grabbed her hand and brought it closer, examining it.

"Well it would seem as if you are right. The cut is already healed."

"I told you! Now release my hand!" Sebastian smirked at her indignant expression

"Ah, but…we still need to get you cleaned up." He lowered her hand to his lips and began to lick the blood off of her hand, never breaking eye contact with her.

Esmeralda blushed from her roots all the way down to her toes. She opened and closed her mouth, trying to comprehend and find the words to deal with the situation.

"Un-un-unhand me!" she cried, pulling her hand away from him and his ministrations.

Sebastian smirked, a predatory gleam in his eyes. Stepping away to give her space, he had to smile in satisfaction at the way he affected her.

"Try not to have any more accidents…but if you do…I'll be more than happy to assist you." And with that, he left.

Esmeralda's legs gave out and she slumped to the floor, holding her previously injured and bloody hand to her chest.

'_Darn it…he got me…'_

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><p><strong>Sorry this is short but hopefully you still enjoyed this chapter!<strong>

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**Don't forget to review! And for those of you who did, thanks so much! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Until next time!**


	26. That Maid, Astonishment

**So…I'm back! I'm graduating tomorrow and since I'll be on summer vacation, I'll try to update more. Anyways~ enjoy!**

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><p>Astonishment<p>

Celeste and Esmeralda hurriedly ran around the kitchen, along with the servants (except Tanaka) trying to get all the last minute details together for the party.

"Ahhh…the rain came…" Finny noted as he looked up and out of the window.

Bard smirked as he stirred the food in the pot.

"Isn't cause the young master is doing something unusual?"

Esmeralda snickered, mentally agreeing with the cook.

"Bard! That's rude!" Mey-Rin chastised.

"You have to admit…he does have a point…" Esmeralda said, as she walked by Mey-Rin to put away some extra dishes.

"Esmeralda!" Mey-Rin admonished.

Sebastian walked in at that moment, clapping his hands.

"The party won't be cancelled because of rain! Don't idle! It'll be time to meet the guests soon! When you're called into the dining hall, come out in order according to your position; try not to mix things up! Please wait in the entrance hall first. Understood?" Sebastian stated and the others gave sounds of confirmation. "Good, now Esmeralda, help Celeste get dressed."

"Yeah, yeah…" Esmeralda muttered as she ushered the younger girl out of the room.

.

Celeste fidgeted nervously as she let Esmeralda tie her hair up in an elegant bun.

"Nervous?" Esmeralda asked the girl.

"Y-yes…I know the etiquette teacher Ciel hired for me was the best b-but…wh-what if I make a fool of myself? A fool of Ciel?" Esmeralda gave the worried girl a smile.

"It's okay, Celes, everyone will love you. Besides, it does not matter what everyone else thinks. As long as Ciel is happy with you and you give it your best shot, then you'll have nothing to worry about."

Celeste smiled up at the angel.

"Thanks, Esme! You always know what to say to make me feel better!" Esmeralda chuckled, before giving the girl a wry smile.

"Good. Now, stop moving! I need to finish your hair and makeup!" Celeste giggled before turning back to face the mirror.

.

Ciel, Celeste, Esmeralda, and Sebastian walked towards the front hall where they could hear the chatter of voices. As they walked down the stairs, Ciel became irritated at Lau as he heard what the Asian man was saying about him to a guest.

"Why don't you leave your teasing of the guests at that?" Ciel demanded, his face souring.

"Huh…a…child?" the guest Lau had been teasing fumbled out, shocked.

Lau turned to the guest and smiled.

"Yep. That tiny little child is Earl Phantomhive."

"Little was unnecessary!" Ciel angrily stated.

Sebastian gave Ciel an exasperated look, Esmeralda clapped her hand over her mouth to muffle a laugh, and Celeste just sweat dropped.

"Ahem. Thank you for accepting my invitation today. I am the head of house, Ciel Phantomhive." Ciel introduced himself, smiling a bit, before turning to Celeste. "And this is my fiancée, Celeste Diamante." Celeste gave them all a small curtsey and a smile.

"After the dinner party starts, I'll once again call upon each of you in order to exchange greetings. This includes both my regular clients and the ones I am meeting for the first time." Ciel paused as he glanced among the guests. "But it seems that the guest of honor isn't here yet?" Ciel asked, turning to Sebastian.

"With this foul weather, his arrival seems to have been delayed." Sebastian answered.

"Oh well…it's not like we can keep everyone waiting in the hall like thi—" Ciel was interrupted by a knock.

"There is a guest arriving!" Mey-Rin announced as she bowed.

In walked an older man and a younger man.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, I'm Georg Von Siemens. I am grateful for your invitation." Behind the older man, Charles Grey waved.

"Thanks. Are preparations for the party complete?" Grey asked.

"I'm deeply sorry to have delayed you." Siemens apologized, shaking Ciel's hand.

"Of course not, you have come from afar." Ciel replied.

Grabbing Celeste's hand, Ciel began to walk away.

"Let's exchange greetings once the party has started. For now, please chat freely at the buffet. This way please."

Esmeralda stayed behind as she listened to Sebastian call out the name of the guests.

.

Celeste watched silently from her place by Ciel as he conversed with his guests. She wanted to leave and try to eat or even talk to Esmeralda but Ciel held a firm grip on her hand. She kept the boredom she was feeling off her face, but it was getting harder to do. Catching, Esmeralda's eye, the older woman gave her a sympathetic look, which Celeste responded with a tired smile and a discrete shrug. She was pulled from her musing when a collective "wow" went around the group.

Glancing over, she saw a very pretty couple. As the group conversed, she noticed another man peeking over at the group. She noticed that he tried to introduce himself but got cut off by Charles Grey. Celeste watched as the man walked dejectedly towards a chair. She frowned as Ciel began to tug her away and towards the food area.

Grabbing a drink, she tugged on Ciel's hand and once she got his attention, she nodded her head towards the depressed man. Ciel glanced at the man, then at Celeste's wide eyed pleading look before sighing and nodding his head, walking over towards the man.

"Is it okay if we sit next to you?" Ciel asked him.

"Of course." The man replied.

As Ciel took a seat, Celeste sat in the other chair on the other side of the man.

"Earl!?" the man exclaimed, standing up.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Ciel asked him.

"Y-y-y-yes!"

"That's good to hear." Celeste said, smiling up at the man when he turned to face her.

"Please sit down, Mr. Wordsmith." Ciel said, chuckling slightly.

"I'm really not at a level worthy of being called 'wordsmith' yet…please call me, Arthur." The man, now known as Arthur stumbled out.

"I want to call you this, so isn't it okay? Do you dislike it? 'Wordsmith' that is."

"Ah…no…that is…" as the two began to converse more, Celeste watched as Esmeralda and Sebastian served food to the guests.

She smiled behind her glass as she watched Sebastian say something to the woman, who in return, glared at him in response.

She was pulled from her musings by a loud voice.

"I told you to please stop it!" she turned and noticed Irene yelling at Siemens.

"To have you all over me with your disgusting hands…I can't take it anymore!"

"Whaaat? You're at fault for wearing those clothes. You really want to be touched don't you? Don't pretend to be sweet and innocent now."

Irene snapped and slapped Siemens.

"Insolent jerk! Have some shame!"

"Why you…like I'll let you say that to me!" Celeste gasped and watched as Siemens threw the contents of his drink at Irene, but instead of hitting her, it hit Ciel, who had rushed over.

"Earl!"

Celeste immediately jumped up and ran over to Ciel.

"This is a dining hall. In any case, that will be enough from you two for today." Ciel stated, finality in his voice, then turning his head to face Celeste and assure her he was alright.

In that same instance, Grimsby started yelling.

"You old pervert! Don't touch my woman so…easily!" he grabbed a wine bottle and flung it at Siemens.

They all watched as the bottle hurtled towards Siemens, only for it to be intercepted by Sebastian. He opened the wine bottle and let it fill the pyramid of wine glasses that he had set up.

"It's a fantastic wine from the village of Pucari in southeastern Moldova. Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy."

As the guests praised the display, Esmeralda huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Che. Show off." She muttered.

Celeste watched concernedly as Sebastian began to use a towel to dry off Ciel. They began talking in a language that she didn't understand, though she guessed it was French. She glanced back at Arthur when she heard him laugh. He clapped his hands over his mouth when he saw the three of them glancing at them, but Celeste only gave him a smile while Ciel playfully shushed him.

.

"Oh? Has master Siemens fallen asleep?" Ciel questioned.

"Seems like it…"

"Sebastian. Take the lord to his room. Celeste and I will retire too." Ciel said, grabbing Celeste's hand and pulling her from her seat.

"I'm very sorry, but we'll excuse ourselves as well." Ciel said to the rest of his guests.

"Ahh? The earl and his fiancé are going to sleep already?" Lau asked.

"For children such as ourselves, it's bed time already. Please relax yourselves."

"Have a good night!" Celeste said as she walked off with Ciel.

"So you're only a child when it's convenient huh." Sebastian pointed out.

"Shut up." Ciel growled, while Celeste giggled at the two.

.

Esmeralda and the rest of the servants (besides Celeste) were in the kitchen, cleaning up after the night's activity. Esmeralda only half listened to Mey-Rin's complaints about Siemens when all of a sudden the bell to his room rung.

"Uhhh…I don't want to go…" Mey-Rin whimpered.

"I'll come along."

"M-Mr. Sebastian! Are you worried about me!?"

"I'm more worried about Master Siemens, he seemed really drunk." Esmeralda snickered at Sebastian's statement, watching as the two left the room.

.

Esmeralda and the other servants immediately rushed towards the sound of the noise they heard. As they neared, they saw that it was Mey-Rin and Sebastian with all the other guests, crowded around Master Siemens room.

Esmeralda gasped once she entered the room and saw Siemens sitting on his chair, eyes rolled back into his head and saliva coming out of his mouth, dead.

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><p><strong>Wrote this whole chapter in a day! Yes! Anyways, I hoped you all enjoyed it and don't forget to review! Till next time! Bye~<strong>

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